Fate Azure Destiny
by Polyfemus
Summary: Many years after the battle against Goetia and the end of the Grand Order, Fujimaru Ritsuka finds himself involved in another war. Will the previous last master of humanity be able to accept his role in the incoming war? [AU] [Arc 2: Glory to the Queen]
1. Chapter 1: The Remains

**Chapter 1: The Remains**

"Now, allow me to show you." The monstrous figure looked down upon us; his voice was filled with immeasurable rage. "This is the end of your journey, the end of human history!"

He moved his deformed yellow and black hand.

"Deploying Third Noble Phantasm. The time of birth hath come; I am the remedy of eternity!"

The black sky of the Time Temple began to shine with a purple, powerful light. A mass of red energy started gathering, powerful enough to incinerate humanity with a single hit.

And before that despairing sight, one that would bring fear to the bravest man, she just stood there, in front of me.

With her shield on her hands, she stood ready to protect me, just like she always did.

But this time, it was different. Her small figure now looked bigger than ever before; her back looked wider than everyone I had come to know.

The girl that first met me with a curious look on her face now looked stronger than every hero, villain or Servant I had come to meet in this Grand Order.

"_**ARS ALMADEL SALOMIS" **_The monster roared, and the light descended upon us.

I extended my hand, in hope of reaching her, in hope of feeling her warm one last time. But my hands never held her again; she was out of my reach.

So far away.

* * *

I woke up in my bed.

The sheets had been thrown to the side at some point in the night, and the cold breeze of the morning touched my entire body.

It was pleasant.

With all the force I could muster, I got out of bed and started preparing for the new day.

The digital clock on the nightstand marked the five past six. It was still a bit early, but I needed to get ready with time if I didn't want to be late.

My normal routine flowed like it always did, I showered with cold water to get rid of any doziness that may still be with me, and once I was done, I contemplated for a minute if I should cut my beard a bit or not.

"Still not long enough to look like a beggar." A rapid look at the mirror gave me the answer.

I put on my clothes, took the keys and briefcase with the marked exams, and went to the door to abandon my house and start another day.

Only to stop before turning the key.

I looked back at my apartment, and my eyes moved to the object hanged from the wall. It would be normal if it was a painting or a diploma, but that object couldn't look more out of place in the small apartment.

It was a cross-shaped shield, black but with a distinct silver shine, and big enough to occupy almost the entire wall.

"I'll be back at night." I said to the inanimate object, with no hope of ever getting a response. And even so, that futile act made me happy.

"Take care, Mashu."

* * *

"Good morning, kids." I said, as I entered the classroom.

"Good morning teacher." Some of my students answered.

Others saw me but didn't, probably thinking that acknowledging my presence was enough of a greeting.

Another group whispered "Dude, Fujimaru is already here" thinking that I couldn't hear them, and the last remaining group of students just ignored me altogether.

So pretty much the same as usual.

"I have the result of the exams and most of you did…" I stopped, with the hope of creating some expectation and probably falling. "…quite well actually."

And it was true, maybe kids these days are more interested in history than in my student days, or hey, maybe I am actually a really good teacher!

…or maybe they cheated without me realizing.

"Although the ones that failed did it pretty bad." I said as I separated the approved exams from the failed ones. Just then I saw an especially disastrous exam and felt my mind developing a headache.

"And speaking of that, Mr. Lewis, can I ask you a question?"

The boy named Lewis who was talking with another student suddenly looked at me, surprised.

"Yes, teacher, what's up?

"Nothing much, Mr. Lewis, I was just wondering why did you write that emperor Nero was a girl?"

The class burst into laughter, while Lewis snickered.

"Sorry, teach, I didn't know what to do with that question, so I started thinking how much more interesting this subject would be if the emperor was a woman hiding her gender."

"A woman with big bonkers." Said another voice, murmuring, which immediately resulted in another burst of laughter

"Hey, language." I warned him, but I didn't really mean it. Then I looked back at Lewis. "You have quite the imagination Mr. Lewis, it would be great if you could put that enthusiasm in studying."

Lewis just shrugged, not really caring.

Oh, but he should care, I thought. After all, that question was the only one he got correct.

"…"

I wonder who much time has passed since I heard her sing? Four years? Five years? I used to hate hearing her back in Chaldea.

A now I wanted nothing more than to hear her again.

* * *

"Hey, Ritsuka." A voice called for me.

A man approached me, with an expression of tiredness on his face. He was wearing a brown suit a bit too elegant for a high school teacher, some trousers of the same color and a pair of glasses.

"Oh, Arthur. How it's going?" I noticed that he was taking a pack of cigars of his pocket. "Are you on break?"

"Nah, my class is having some dumb talk about environmental care or something. "He offered me a cigar. "What about you?"

"I am done with class 2-A." I said as I shake my head in denial. "I have ten minutes until I have to take care of 3-C."

"I see, I see."

And then, the conversation died down while Arthur brought his lighter to the cigar on his mouth.

"Ritsuka." To my surprise, he continued talking, I was sure that he was more interested in savoring one of his cigars than me.

"Hmm?"

"Don't you miss your homeland sometimes?"

"Where does that question come from?" I gave him a wry smile.

"Well, it's just that sometimes you look a bit…gloomy is the word?"

"Hey." If I didn't know Arthur as much as I did I would think he was trying to mock me.

No, actually he is probably doing it.

"Well, not gloomy, more like…nostalgic? It's like you always have your mind on something."

"Wow, didn't know you majored in psychology too. Must have been hard having to study both that and math in college."

"Ha! If that were the case, at least I could add a nice title to my name." He smoked some more. "Instead of just "teacher" it would be "Dr. Arthur". Doesn't that sound way cooler?"

I chuckled, this man always manages to make me laugh a bit.

It's not like we were actually that friendly to begin with, it was more like we were both in the same boat so we may as well try to get along.

Just a person to talk about the mundane of life.

"You didn't answer my question, though. Do you miss Japan?"

So he still wants to know…

"Not really. I have become accustomed to England in all these years. And you know, I actually have people I know here, in Japan though…"

"Oh, dang." He took the cigar of his mouth, looking a bit worried."Sorry, I didn't want to remind you of-"

"My family?"

"…Yes"

"It's fine." I tried to reassure him. "It's been years since then."

"Must be hard either way. I don't really get along with my parents or brothers really." He released a "puff" of smoke. "But the thought of them not being there…."

"It's hard." A sad small appeared on my face. "But even if I didn't want to, I had to learn to let them go and continue living."

…

To let my family go…to let Chaldea go.

I keep saying that, but the truth is that after all these years, I still miss them.

Nero, Heracles, Asterios, Abby, Hokusai, Arturia, Orion, Kiyohime, Tamamo, Emiya, Musashi, Holmes, Da Vinci, Roman…

Mashu.

* * *

Since it was Friday, Arthur wanted to invite me for some drinks to "cheer me up" apparently. I kept saying that I was okay but he kept pushing so I gave up in the end.

It was already dark outside when I arrived at my apartment. I had more than a few drinks so I was a bit tipsy, however, all my dizziness disappeared once I saw the door of my apartment.

It was slightly open, although I clearly remember closing it properly this morning.

Once I got a bit closer I noticed another thing: the lock was destroyed and not in a way to avoid attention, it was more like someone had forced his way in with brute strength alone.

Someone definitely entered my house.

I breathed deeply and steeled my nerves, trying to think carefully about the situation.

The possibility of someone from the mage association trying to find me briefly came to my mind, but I quickly disregarded it. I am sure they want to forget that I ever existed more than to seek revenge.

No, it was more likely that this was just some random burglar looking for things to steal. If that was the case, then it would be better to just wait outside and let the police handle this.

…

However, I won't sit idle while someone steals from me.

Was it a matter of pride?

Maybe.

I am a still Magus; maybe I have more in common with those assholes of the Clock Tower than I think.

Moving as slowly as I could, I opened the broken door and entered without making a sound, the light was turned off and darkness covered the entire apartment.

I hide behind a wall before reaching the main hall, my apartment is not that big, there weren't many places to hide beside the bathroom. If the burglar was still here, then he should be in the hall.

It's been years since I last did it, but I still can use spells.

I raised my hand while remembering how to use a Gandr shot. That would be enough to incapacitate a normal person.

I breathed deeply once again, and abandoned my cover. With my hand pointing like a pistol, I was ready to face the intruder.

But I wasn't prepared to see what I found.

The intruder stood in the middle of the hall, not even trying to hide her presence. I couldn't see her face since she was facing away from me, but I was sure she was a girl. Long white hair done in a ponytail fell on her back, and she was wearing what I think was a white and black school uniform.

However, something caught my attention, from the back of her head grew two horn-like objects, which strangely enough seemed to shine yellow in the darkness of my apartment.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my house?"

The moment the girl turned to face me, I saw them.

Her eyes, they glowed in the dark too, with an intense yellow brightness, but that wasn't what caught my attention, what I couldn't ignore was the insane excitement that those eyes showed me.

That was the proof, even if it had been some time since I experienced something supernatural, I could say for sure that this girl wasn't human.

"Oh, what do we have here?" She tided her head to the side, without breaking eye contact. "How long have you been there, little human?"

I could feel an invisible pressure while she talked, this girl must be quite something, I doubt a Gandr would work against her.

"That's not…something you ask to the owner of this place." I slowly lowered my hand, whatever this thing is, she wasn't seeing me as a threat for now and I wanted that to continue. "What are you doing here? Are you lost?"

I tried to feign ignorance and slowly began moving sidewise.

"Lost? Oh no. I am where I want to be." A wide smile appeared on her face. "I wonder if it's the same for you, Fujimaru Ritsuka."

"H-How did you know my name?"

Slowly, she mustn't notice what I am trying to do.

"We can know everything about anyone once they come in contact with us. Let's see…" She brought her hand to her chin as if trying to recall something. " Name: Fujimaru Ritsuka. Age: twenty-six. Profession: History Teacher. Place of birth: Uknown. Name of the Father: Uknown. Name of the Mother: Uknown. Other Family Members: Uknown. Oh?"

Suddenly she stopped.

"I can't seem to find information about you within your birth and six years, five months, six days, eight hours, twenty minutes and two seconds ago. How strange."

She began approaching me.

"Status of the Parents: Uknown. Scholarship Level: Uknown. Acquaintances from six years ago: Uknown. Activities from six years ago: Uknown. Uknown. Uknown. Uknown. Uknown. Uknown. Uknown. Uknown. Uknown. Uknown. Uknown. Uknown. Uknown."

She was getting too close so I had to stop. Her approach forced me to step back, but I hit a wall behind me after a couple of steps.

"We seem to lack a lot of information about you, I wonder if it has something to do with that shield."

At that moment I realized it, she had been staring at Mashu's shield when I entered the room. Was that the reason she was here?

"I don't know what are talking about, I am just… a history teacher as you said." I tried to pretend ignorance. "And that shield is just antiquity from a friend of mine."

"Lies."

"…!"

"Humans usually react differently when they encounter us; the fact that you seem calm is suspicious."

Shit, she realized!

She had me against the wall, cutting any possible escape route. Her bright eyes looked at me with a mad stare.

"You present quite a lot of unknown variables….that could be troublesome to our plan." She slowly moved her hand to my face, her fingers coming close to my eyes, too close. "I was going to kindly ask you about the shield, but it seems like I have to…"

I didn't let finish. With a swift move, I put my hand on her face and shoot a Gandr, she was so close that she didn't have time to dodge. Or maybe she could but didn't expect that a "little human" would be capable of that.

Either way, I managed to escape from her grasp and run to where Mashu's shield was hanged.

"Oh? That hurt a bit." Unsurprisingly, the thing didn't go down with just a Gandr shoot, in fact, it didn't even leave a scratch on her face. "What was that? We have no records of that kind "energy", other humans don't have it. Fufufufufu. This is far more interesting than I thought!"

I took Mashu's shield…no, I took Lord Camelot from the wall, and put it on my right hand.

"Now I see it!" She exclaimed, with a mad excitement. "You hide beneath that disguise of a boring normal human, but now I see it clearly."

She then pointed at me.

"Your eyes are those of a warrior, they show defiance, they show decision. How amusing. Do you truly think you can face us, The Sirens, by yourself?"

"...I don't know what or who you are." I secured the shield in my right hand, and put it between me and this so-called Siren. "But I won't go down without a fight!"

This life, the life that Mashu Kirielight saved. I have decided to protect it.

So that her sacrifice wasn't in vain, I have decided to live.

"I won't let you kill me so easily!"

"Fufuufufu...so be it, then. This is outside of my predetermine mission, but you are far too interesting to ignore." She extended her hands, and from the thin air, four black floating objects came to exist, they had a futuristic look and looked similar to drones, each one had two cylindrical protrusions that looked like cannons." I am Purifier, Battleship-class ship from the Sirens" She made a small reverence.

"Purifier…? What do you purify, if you let me ask?"

"Humanity."

"But of course…" I said, cursing internally. "It's always about humanity, isn't it?"

* * *

A loud sound echoed in the dark room, as a robotic voice spoke in an unemotional voice.

"WARNING, SIREN ACTIVITY DETECTED. SIREN ACTIVITY DETECTED."

Between the chaotic sounds of the alarm, computers' key being pressed furiously, phones ringing at the background and people shouting to each other, a woman with red air and black uniform stood next to a man sitting before a large machine.

"Where is the signal coming from?" She asked, with a stern tone.

"Ma'am…" His subordinate managed to hear her between all the noises, but he looked worried. "This must be wrong…there is no way…!"

"I asked you a question, cadet. Where is the signal coming from?"

"…It's not coming from the ocean; the signal is coming from inland territory, ma'am."

"…! To think that they would come so close…!"

It was the first time The Siren had ventured inland, usually, they are satisfied controlling the sea, an attack to the country was something they weren't prepared for.

"What should we do, ma'am? The prototypes aren't functional yet…"

"I beg to differ on that."

Another woman appeared, she had long white hair and her mere presence was completely different from the soldiers in the room. She was calm, her silver eyes never showed an iota of worry. Her outfit was equally strange; it could be easily described as a maid uniform, and on her neck was a steel collar attached to a broken chain.

"You…! What are you doing here!? Who gave you permission to move on your-"

"Be quiet, cadet!" The woman in black shut the man up."Explain yourself."

"The Queen does not take lightly this advance on her territory; it has ordered us maids to intervene."

"The Queen…" The woman couldn't believe that the prototypes had a hierarchy already; it hasn't been that long since they were awakened. "Regardless of what you were ordered, I can't send a group of weapons disguised as girls to fight in a city full of civilians; they would bring too much attention."

"We have a special member specialized in undercover operations. If we send her, I guarantee that you won't hear a single thing about us in the media."

"Special members for undercover operations!? You were almost born yesterday, weapon! Do you expect us to believe-"

"Cadet, if you don't shut up, I will personally take care that you would be thrown in the filthiest cell that they can find for insubordination."

The man went silent, realizing that he had overstepped his rank.

"Are you sure you can do it?" The woman asked the maid. "If this mission fails, I can't guarantee yours and the other's survival."

"We are weapons, Marcia. We were made for this. If we can't destroy a single Siren attacking our country, then we deserve to be destroyed."

Marcia looked at the maid's eyes, there wasn't doubt in them.

"Alright. You have my permission to deploy."

"You have my sincerest thanks" She took her long skirt and lifted up a little in a reverence. "I, the Head Maid Belfast from the Royal Navy, won't disappoint you, Commander."

**END OF CHAPTER 1**


	2. Chapter 2: Siren's Song

**Chapter 2: Siren's Song**

One should always know their own limitations.

A thing I had come to understand during my time as the last Master of Humanity was my own weakness, as well as the difference between a Servant and a human being.

A Servant may have been human once, but once they have been recorded in the Throne of Heroes, they change.

They become something different, something more.

A Servant transcends humankind, they become faster and stronger, even more than when they were still alive. They become capable of defying the laws of the world, they become capable of miracles.

That's why the sole idea of a human facing a Servant is ridiculous.

Utterly and entirely ridiculous.

And even knowing all that, why am I once again facing a being that seems to surpass humanity? Why am I again in a position where my life may be suddenly forfeit without me being able to do anything?

Maybe it was fate, the same fate that brought me to Chaldea all those years ago.

Whatever the case was, I don't plan on dying to this Siren thing. Just like the last time, I was going to live.

And to live, means knowing your own limitations.

I dashed against the door of my apartment, the already broken door didn't reduce my running speed that much, and what awaited me on the other side was an empty corridor.

Hoping that none of my neighbors will decide to go outside, I ran towards the stairs.

From behind, the sound of the drones drew near. The vibration of them floating in the air was suddenly overcome by an energy cannon being shot; a strange energy bullet went in my direction.

I quickly moved Lord Camelot behind me back to block the attack. Thankfully the bullet disappeared as soon as it touched the shield.

It wasn't like I doubted Lord Camelot durability, but it would a lie if I said I wasn't worried about how those thing's attacks would react to a Noble Phantasm.

I had no idea what these Sirens were, but they didn't seem magical, rather, I would say that they are the complete opposite. The drones she was using were mechanical looking, so could it be that their power comes from technology, rather than mystery?

I could hear the same sound again, as another shot impacted on the shield, with little to no effect.

I will have time to think about the nature of the enemy later, for now…

I felt Od rushing through my magic circuits, a black and red sphere of magical energy appeared on my left hand.

I stopped running, and turned to face the drones. Covering myself using the shield of my right hand, I moved my other hand pointing towards the nearest drone.

The Gandr was shot; however, the machine easily dodged it and without losing a second, the drone responded firing once again.

"Damn you!"

Their energy bullets weren't doing anything to Lord Camelot, but I was clearly on the losing side of the conflict if I could do nothing but defend and run.

I resumed my running through the corridors, shielding my back from the barrage of energy bullets. The stairs to the floor below were near, I just had to-

Suddenly, as I was about to turn a corner, another drone appeared just in front of me.

Shit! I won't make it in time to block it with Lord Camelot!

Without another choice, I shouted my aria of reinforcement; green lines appeared on my legs, followed by an unnatural feeling of strength.

The drone shoot, I could have tried to evade its attack and pass beneath it, but I didn't have that much confidence in my ability.

Instead, I hit the ground and threw myself to the side, crashing with a closed window.

Breaking the glass hurt, but I manage to fell safely outside the building; never in my life had I been more thankful to live on a second floor, a couple of meters more and I would have probably broken my legs, reinforced or not.

All this to just to evade a drone, if only I had my old Mystic Codes then fighting these things wouldn't be this difficult. Sadly the Mage Association wasn't kind enough of returning it.

Obviously, the drones followed me.

"Why can't they just give up!?" I cursed internally as I continue running for my life.

* * *

A few hundred meters away, standing perfectly still on top of a radio tower, was a woman in a maid costume, her amber eyes studied carefully the events that just took place.

"The Siren is moving! What are you doing prototype number 05!? Why have you not engaged with the target yet!?" A furious voice spoke on her left ear.

"…"

The maid ignored the woman's shouts, and just stood where she was. What was happening below her was far more important than some vermin's cries.

"Can you hear me, prototype 05!? Engage with the Siren right n-" The maid took the communicator from her ear, and smashed it.

"Belfast, are you there?" Then she spoke, as if another person was there next to her.

"Sheffield." The head maid answered, her voice spoke directly to her head without any need for a device. "That was not very nice of you, the Commander is mad now."

"I see, tell her that I am deeply sorry, my hand slipped and I broke the communicator." Sheffield said in a neutral tone what was obviously a lie. "More importantly, Belfast. The situation here has changed, can we talk?"

"No…." Belfast made a small pause. "I told you, Sheffield, you have to follow the Siren now."

"…If you can't talk but can hear, then repeat yes two times."

"Yes, yes, it's an order form the Commander."

"Good, then I will proceed to tell you what just happened. One of these vermin- I mean humans, was fighting against the Siren directly, he had what appears to be some kind of shield capable of withstanding her attacks. At this moment, he is escaping from her at an unnaturally high speed. Did you hear all that?"

There was a longer silence this time, until Belfast could answer.

"Yes…we talked about this. You have to follow the Commander's order."

"Alright, I don't know what this is all about. It could be just another Siren trap to lure us…or the humans could be hiding information from us again. There was no mention of anyone working with the United Kingdom's government to fight the Sirens, and last time I checked, we were supposed to be the only one capable of fighting them. Either way, the situation is fishy, what should I do?"

"Think about the Queen…she wouldn't like you to disobey our allies."

"Understood. Tell the Commander I am going to purse the Siren now but make no mention of the human with the shield. I'll be communicating with them through you."

Sheffield then broke the mental link and began jumping between buildings, following the man.

"Think about the Queen….." She repeated Belfast words. How would the Queen want her to resolve the situation? What course of action would benefit the Royal Navy the most?

After a few seconds, she reached a conclusion.

"The Siren must be taken care of, as for that human…"

If the shield he wields is powerful enough to stand against a Siren, then it's a matter of time until the humans manage to develop weapons that work on them too.

If that comes to happen, then the delicate balance between the Royal Navy and the United Kingdom's government may be disrupted against them.

The Queen wouldn't allow that.

She couldn't allow that.

"If he turns out to be a threat to us, then he will be eliminated as well."

* * *

After quite some time of running like a madman, I turned back to see that the drones were nowhere to be found. It seemed like at some point in my escape, I managed to lose them.

"Ah…Ah….Ah…"

Feeling how the fatigue was starting to affect me, I walked to the nearest alley and hid myself next to a garbage container. After making sure that the enemy wasn't coming, I finally sat down.

"Ahh…ahh…" I was panting; I needed some time to recover. "I just…I just hope that nobody saw me running using magecraft. That would be troublesome in more than a few ways. "

Will the mage association come for me if I get caught using magic? It's not like I had another choice, if it wasn't for the reinforcement spell, they would have surely caught me up.

It was a few hours into the night and I didn't notice anyone in the streets, but I couldn't say for sure if someone had spotted me from his house, for example.

I deeply sighed.

Either I get killed by those drones or the clock tower locks me up again, my future wasn't hopeful.

While I was recovering, I looked at the shield in my right hand.

Lord Camelot still looked as strong and sturdy as the first time I saw Mashu using it, those energy bullets didn't leave a single scratch on its surface.

"Mashu…" Even if she was no longer here, she was still protecting me. "I'll be sure to survive this, I promise."

"Who is Mashu?"

I froze. A girl's voice came from above me.

My breathing accelerated again, as I slowly lifted my head.

The Siren was there, sitting on top of the garbage container, looking at me with a smile of complacency.

I quickly stood up, trying to put some distance between us.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

"…!" I stopped my steps as four black drones blocked my path, their cannons pointing at me.

"Now, I wonder if you can move your shield fast enough to block all the shots. Care to try, Fujimaru Ritsuka?"

"…"

I didn't even try, I knew I couldn't. By the time I moved my right hand, I would be already dead.

I took a deep breath with resignation, as I turned to look at the Siren.

I was at her mercy now.

"Are you going to kill me?" The best I could do was trying to make time until I could find a gap to use my reinforcement and escape.

"Kill you? Oh no, you misunderstand us." He abandoned the container with a small jump, and began approaching me. "I was going to bring you to our base, cut you open and then study every part of your organism with love and care."

"…!"

This thing...so sadistic…

"But where would be the fun in that? Also, I don't want Observer Alfa or Tester Beta to ruin our fun..."She said, with a progressive lower tone, but immediately went back to her usual self. "So let's play a game, shall we?"

"…it's not like I have a choice, right?"

"That's the spirit!" Her cheerfulness could have been cute if she wasn't trying to kill me. "So this is how it's going to be, I am going to ask you questions, and if you lie to me or I don't like the answer, I'll be cutting one of your limbs, simple, right?"

"…"

Silence.

"What, you don't like it?"

Nobody likes to get their limbs cut out, but as she doesn't seem to understand reason, I tried a different approach.

"…How is that a game…if you are the only one having fun?"

"Hmmmmm." She appeared to really be thinking about it. "Then let's do this. For every satisfactory answer you give, I let you ask a question. Won't that be more fun to you?"

"But how can I know if you are honest?"

She shrugged.

"It's up to you if you want to believe me or not."

I wanted to say how unjust it was that I couldn't lie but she could, however, I didn't want to test my luck, so I accepted those unreasonable rules.

I ignored if she has a way of telling if I was lying or not. I could always just answer with half-truths but…I don't doubt that she will really cut one of my limbs if I mess up.

"Then it's question time!" She raised one arm on the air like an excited kid. "Who is this "Mashu" person?"

…!

Of all the things you could ask…it had to be that…

"…Are you sure you want to know that?" My voice came out dejected."Weren't you more interested in-"

"What would you rather lose, your left arm or your left leg?" She asked, with a smile.

"Alright, alright, I understand." I tried to calm her. "Mashu is…was an important friend of mine, someone how helped me when I needed it the most, my partner, my companion, my guide…she passed away a few years ago."

"Uh…" Purifier tided her head. "Then why do you call your shield "Mashu"?"

"This is not my shield…" I looked at Lord Camelot, it was still on my right hand. "This was her shield; she used it to protect me."

She continued looking at me, as if wasn't answering her question."

"That's why sometimes it reminds me of her." I forced a more precise answer. "That's why I call her name sometimes."

"Ohhh. And how did she die?"

"…You said I could ask questions too." I looked with an accusing stare. "I have already answered two times."

In reality, I just wanted to change the topic.

She gave me a bored expression.

"Alright, ask away." Her tone becomes uninterested.

"Then tell me, what exactly are the "Sirens"?"

"Ships from the future. Next question."

"…huh?"

Did she just say something incredible like it was nothing?

"Next question." She now was impatient.

Focus, Ritsuka. Understanding her nature could wait, what was important now is getting all the information I can get.

"What is your objective, and what it has to do with me?"

"Fufufu…those are two questions. But I let it slide just for you, aren't I a good girl?"

No, you are certainly not.

"We, the Sirens, want just one thing: evolution."

"Evolution…?"

"As for you…." She didn't elaborate and continued talking. "You are mysterious. We lack a lot of information about your existence, and whenever we try to track you in the timeline, we can't find anything beyond 6 years ago."

"..."

"This is not the first time this has happened, sometimes, even perfect machines have errors, you know?." She continued explaining. "We call it a false positive or a bug, kill it and call it a day but..."

She approached even more, and started walking around me as if studying me, her eyes were full of curiosity.

"Imagine our surprise when even when we go looking for you in other worlds, we can't find you."

"Eh…?"

Other…worlds...?

"You aren't present in other worlds. For some inexplicable reason, you are unique to this one. The fact that we weren't informed of such an important event means that you aren't part of the Creator's plan..."

I did no longer hear her, those words still echoed in my head like a whisper.

Other worlds.

Different worlds, parallel worlds.

Worlds where certain things didn't happen, worlds were certain things went in another direction.

Worlds were things can be changed.

"Hey." I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Huh?" She was startled; maybe she didn't expect me to actually touch her.

"Can you…send me to another world?"

"What-?"

"If you can travel to other worlds like nothing, then you can also send me to another world, is that right?" My tone was starting to lose its calm.

Her surprised expression was quickly replaced with a mischievous smile.

"So that's what you really want, huh?" She slowly moved her hand to touch my cheek "The light in your eyes has changed, now all I see is desire, a deep and strong desire."

"Can you do it or not!?" My voice sounded desperate.

I needed to know, I needed to know if there was still a possibility...!

"Fufufufufu" She laughed, and put her arms around me."Let's see…maybe we can reach an agreement...?

Her bright golden eyes looked at me with expectation.

I still didn't know what this Siren wanted, but if she could send me back…if she could send me to Chaldea…I…

I was about to respond, when a series of loud explosion occurred behind me. A quick glance revealed that the drones behind me had been destroyed, all four of them now rested on fire on the floor.

"What the-?"

Before I could react, a barrage of bullets came in my direction.

"Tch…It seems like we have company!" Purifier separated from me, and with a swift move she intercepted the bullets with both arms, protecting me."And when we were about to get into the best part."

Apart from sounding annoyed, I noticed that for the first time, she showed a true pained expression, those bullets actually hurt her.

"Seems like someone forgot to take out the garbage." A new voice could be heard from above us. Then a person fell from the sky, the ground broke once her high silver boots stepped on it.

She was wearing a maid uniform with a pretty long black dress and white motifs. One amber eye observed us with a neutral expression, while the other was hidden behind her short brown hair. To complete the strange outfit, a steel collar was on her neck, and from it an inverted Christian cross was connected with a chain.

"Ah, but don't worry."On her hands appeared two pistols, which she quickly pointed at us. "It's a maid's duty to take care of the cleaning."

**END OF CHAPTER 2**

* * *

**AN:** updates may be irregular since I am entering exam week.


	3. Chapter 3: Dark Blue, Crimson Red

**Chapter 3: Dark Blue, Crimson Red**

I looked dumbfounded at the abrupt appearance of the maid. Suddenly, the number of strange people had gone up.

First, a schoolgirl with golden eyes capable of summoning drones, now it was a maid dual-wielding pistols; not to mention that both of them tried to kill me at least once.

"…."

As much as I 'd like to say that this is one of the strangest things that had happened to me, I still vividly remember that one time when Astolfo suddenly barged in my room wearing a maid uniform and fake bunny ears while screaming: "I am a rabbit from the moon."

I am afraid that's difficult to top.

Either way, I couldn't help but wonder where this collection of strange characters came from. Was this maid also a superhuman being? Another Siren? They surely didn't look alike. Or were they from different factions? Enemies?

There were too many questions, and not nearly enough answers.

However, one thing was clear.

"This maid is hostile." I thought while I raised Lord Camelot in front of me and took a defensive stance. I ignored the reason, but her bullets went directly to my head; she was prepared to kill me in cold blood and if it wasn't for Purifier, she would have succeeded.

Not that I consider the Siren my ally now, she may as well be the reason this maid tried to kill me in the first place.

Although, rather than the Siren, she was staring at me. Her gaze didn't carry any apparent enmity at first glance, however, I did see one emotion that betrayed her unemotional façade, it was neither fury nor anger, it was…

Disgust.

She was looking at me as if I were a cockroach; something so disgusting that it shouldn't be allowed to live. Whatever her reason was, this maid clearly considered me someone that should be eliminated.

"What are you doing here, so far from the sea, pawn?" Purifier suddenly broke the silence; her tone denoted a feeling of superiority. "Why aren't you bonding with your human friends?"

The maid's expression remained neutral.

"It's the duty of the Royal Navy to exterminate any kind of Siren threat, being in the sea or not." Her eyes never stopped staring at me. "The same goes for traitors."

"Traitors…?" I couldn't contain my confusion. "I have no idea what are you talking about."

"Pests don't deserve explanations, only a quick and effective extermination." She declared, and the talk was over, both pistols opened fire again.

Although I easily blocked her bullets this time, she didn't lose a second and approached me with impossible velocity. Before I could even think my next move, she was already next to me, her pistols moved to shot the next barrage at point-blank.

However, Purifier intercepted her, and with a single punch, the maid was sent flying in the opposite direction. A cloud of dust was raised the moment the maid crashed with one of the alley walls.

"That power…."

I knew the difference between us was big, but at that moment I understood it all; she was just toying with me using her drones. If she really wanted to kill me, she could have done it a long time ago.

"Ah, sorry, Fujimaru Ritsuka." She turned back to me and made an apologetic smile.

Then, she dashed towards the fallen maid, who was just about to get up and grabbed her by the neck.

"Wait for a bit, okay?" Having said that, she began jumping between buildings and left the alley with the maid.

"…"

Everything happened so quickly that my brain had difficulty processing it. I was suddenly left alone in the alley, and without a doubt, looking like a confused idiot.

My fighting spirit slowly disappeared and I lowered Mashu's shield, suddenly feeling tired.

"What…what should I do now?"

She told me to wait but…should I just stay here and wait? No, should I even trust her? She didn't actually answer my question.

"…."

Maybe I should simply leave… and try to forget about all this.

My life here is not bad; I secured a job and a place to live at least a bit comfortably, I even made some friends, people who I could talk to.

I had already accepted my destiny after coming here; the fact that my years of risking my life were long gone. I was prepared to live the rest of my life here as a normal person, who will eventually succumb to old age.

But this…this changes everything.

If I follow them, I'll be destroying all those things I have worked upon these six past years. I have already been there before, entangled in a war that far surpassed my own abilities, and I know how it's going to end, that image will always be stuck in my head.

The desolating silence after Mashu's sacrifice, leaving only her shield behind which still stood despite the death of its user.

No matter how many years had passed, I will never be prepared to experience those things again. I am not like the Servants that used to follow me; I am just a mere human that happens to know a bit of magic.

I am no hero, I am just a survivor.

"I promised you, Mashu." I put my hand in Lord Camelot and feel the cold metal in my palm. "I promised you that I would live, and if I follow them, I will be putting my life in danger, the life that you fought so hard to protect."

…

However…

If that Siren could really send me to Chaldea, if I could see you just one last time…I…I…

"…I am really sorry, Mashu."

Cursing myself, I decided to follow them.

* * *

Sheffield tried with all to her might to get away from the Siren that currently was crushing her neck, but it was useless; she was forcefully dragged by her.

"This Siren…." Sheffield thought, feeling overwhelmed.

Not only her strength far surpassed the ones she had faced before, there was also something different in this one...something that the others Siren lacked.

She couldn't exactly put it into words, there was something just off about her.

Sheffield was no expert in Siren's psychology, neither she had battled and destroyed that many of them, that honor corresponded to Belfast, but she was sure that the Sirens were supposed to be no more than mere killing machines. Even the humanoid ones hardly ever show any emotion or feelings, in that regard, they were no different from the ships they commanded.

But this one...was humming.

From the moment she took her by the neck, the Siren didn't stop humming for even a second, as if she was enjoying herself.

As if she truly could feel emotions.

"Hmmm, that looks like a good place." The Siren suddenly spoke. "We can settle things there." And then, Sheffield was unceremoniously thrown again.

This time, however, she managed to control her fall and with a mid-air spin, her feet safely landed on the soft grass.

A quick look revealed that she had landed on a field, a bit far from the residential area they previously were. There weren't a lot of structures close by, only a couple of metal bars forming rectangular arcs a few meters away from her.

The Siren landed in front of her just a few seconds later.

"What do you think? Nobody will interrupt us here."

"You went this far just to hide our encounter." Sheffield immediately understood the Siren intent. "It seems my intervention wasn't necessary, you lot want to remain hidden as much as us."

"Hey, don't take me wrong, it would be fun to see the reaction of the humans." She shrugged. "But orders are orders."

"Orders?"

"You see, I was not supposed to meet humans yet, but that guy seemed interesting so I…." Purifier suddenly stopped talking, looking a bit worried. "Yikes, I think I said too much. Now Empress is going to be mad at me."

"Empress?"

"She is our lea-" She stopped again. "Hey, you are trying to confuse me so that I continue talking, aren't you!?"

"Oh? Did you realize? I must have underestimated your intellect, my apologies." Sheffield made a small reverence.

"How unpleasant…" Purifier release a resigned sigh, but then, a smile was suddenly drawn on her face. "But you were designed like that, so it can't be helped, right?

That claim took Sheffield by surprise.

"What do you know about us?"

"Ah! That's not working a second time! If you want to know then you will have to play with me." She opened her arms and dozens of black drones began to appear around her. "Let's-"

She couldn't finish.

Most of the drones weren't fully materialized when Sheffield answered by making her own weapons appear and without another word, she pressed the triggers.

One by one the drones were shot down, even if some managed to escape the initial bullet barrage and shot her, she easily dodged and destroyed them all.

In no time, it was clear that the drones were no match for her.

"Huh…guess that doesn't work on you." Purifier said, a bit shocked that her drones were destroyed in seconds. "Alright then." She made her knuckles crack. "Let's play in a more direct way, shall we?"

* * *

Marcia Haydes, the Commander of the so-called "Prototype Fleet" was currently having the worst headache of her life.

The wait was killing her.

I had been an hour or so since prototype 05 "Sheffield" has contacted the base; she really wanted to attribute that to Sheffield's lack of subordination, but one part of her couldn't help but think that something had gone wrong, very wrong.

And now in her private office, where she thought she could spend some time away from the chaos that was the command room, her doubts were only getting worst.

Was sending Sheffield the correct choice even if she knew her loyalty was the lowest between all the prototypes?

She would have preferred to send Belfast rather than her, but she couldn't simply let her fight in a city, sending her to the sea was risky enough already.

The rest of them weren't a choice either, prototype 02 "The Queen" refused to fight because apparently "That's the duty of the maids", prototype 03 won't abandon said Queen side for anything and prototype 04 apparently wasn't good at fighting, despite being a living weapon.

She really didn't have another choice but…what if Sheffield's dislike of humans had reached a point that she abandoned them? What would happen then with the rest of the prototypes? Would they follow her? Would they join the Sirens in their war against humanity?

And more importantly, would humanity be prepared to face yet another threat that clearly surpassed them in everything?

"Would you like some tea, Commander?" Said one of those very beings. In her hands, capable of smashing a tank with ease, was a silver tray with a teapot and a steaming cup.

"What I want, Belfast, is hearing news from Sheffield." The commander answered with an irritated tone.

"I am afraid I haven't heard anything from her yet. As an apology, please accept this tea." The maid didn't seem to mind her tone at all, in fact, she was adamant about offering the cup to her.

Marcia deeply sighed and finally accepted the drink.

"Thanks, I guess." She brought the cup to her mouth, but stopped just before drinking as familiar scent reached her nose."Bergamot? We don't have….no, we don't actually have any kind of tea in the base? Where did you get this?"

"A maid had to be prepared for everything." She answered as if it was obvious.

"...You didn't let anyone see you, don't you?"

Belfast just responded with a smile.

"…"

Marcia knew better than to question Belfast actions, so she decided to just enjoy her Earl Grey.

"Hmmm, it's good."

"I am glad." Belfast said, happily. "Nothing fills me with more happiness than to hear than from you, Commander."

"…"

Marcia still didn't know how to feel about the maid.

Belfast, the first prototype and, in the higher-ups' opinion, the only successful one from the Electromagnetic Cube Project. A woman who despite being capable of shooting down helicopters alone, had decided to dress as a maid and serve her.

"Why?" That was the question that didn't leave the commander's mind. "Why does she act so submissive if she can kill us all, and escape from the base?"

She was so friendly with her, so loyal...despite the fact it was her, the Commander, that was pretty much locking them in that hellhole to use them as weapons.

Those thoughts were the only thing that kept Marcia for actually trusting Belfast. Maybe it was a consequence of being a soldier, the constant and permanent mistrust.

"Is something the matter, Commander? You have been looking at me for quite some time without saying anything."

She didn't realize it.

"Sorry." She immediately looked away and tried to change the topic "I was thinking how different you are from Sheffield." She lied.

"Ah, my apologizes for Sheffield's behavior, she is still unaccustomed to humans, so her service may not be the best."

"Don't apologize on her behave. I understand that we didn't exactly treat your kind...in the best manner."The Commander said, while they were alone, she could be as diplomatic as she wanted. "But we have one enemy in common, so I hope we can continue working together."

"Humans created us, Marcia. We are your weapons, so isn't it natural that we follow you?"

"…"

Again, Marcia couldn't understand the maid.

It just didn't make sense, why did it matter if they had created them or not, when they could destroy battalions of soldiers with no effort whatsoever?

She couldn't just shake the feeling that Belfast was hiding something behind that image of perfect loyalty.

Maybe it was her eyes, her calm silver eyes that never show worry or concern as if everything were going according to her will.

As if she was just waiting to make her move…

"Oh? Sheffield is talking to me."

Marcia suddenly snapped out of her thought.

"What is she saying!?"

Belfast didn't answer; instead, she brought a hand to her ear and focused on hearing.

"Understood." After a few nods, she finally looked at the Marcia. "Commander, Sheffield is about to release her rig."

"What!? We sent her precisely because we can't let any of you use cannons inside a city! What is-?"

"Commander." Belfast interrupted her. "She told me that if she doesn't use it, she will be destroyed."

* * *

"…Maybe I should have expected something like this."

Some time had passed since I started following the maid and the Siren. However, I failed to realize an important fact.

I had no idea where they went.

In retrospect, it should have been obvious. Purifier left the alley literally jumping on buildings and I didn't start to follow them immediately, it was only natural not being able to keep up with her, even with magecraft it would have been difficult.

"Hah, pathetic, I can't even follow them. Maybe it was presumptuous of me to think that I actually had a choice in all this."

Things never go the way I want when it comes to superhuman beings. It was the same back in Chaldea, I was constantly getting dragged by my Servant antics.

Fishing all day with Cu Chulainn, serving as a taster in a cooking competition between Tamamo, Emiya, and Boudica, escaping with Kintoki from an enraged Raikou, putting up with Hans's ramblings about a certain woman, training until almost dying with Leonidas…

A smile appeared on my face.

Even if did get dragged by them, I never disliked it. The moments I spent with them were still my most fond memories.

I was deep in those memories when I noticed something upon looking at my surroundings; I didn't know where I was. I had lived in this city for a few years now, but the place I was currently in was completely alien to me.

In other words, I was lost.

"Just what I needed…" Cursing internally, I began searching for a signpost or anything that gave an idea of where I was, I couldn't have strayed that much of my neighborhood.

It didn't help that the night seemed to have become even darker; no lights were coming from the multiple houses beside me and the moon was nowhere to be found. Only the dim light of a few lampposts illuminated my path.

…

…

…

It was quite.

Almost too quiet, there wasn't even the sound of cars or motorcycles passing by.

…

…

...

And maybe it was my imagination, but I could almost swear that the air was thicker, more difficult to breathe even.

…

…

…

The lampposts path seemed to extend for miles and no matter how much I walked, I felt that I was getting further and further away from my destiny. I was starting to wonder if I actually would find something when I saw it.

A person in the distance, walking ahead of me.

They were a bit too far so I couldn't know if they were a woman or a man, all I could see was their pure white clothes, which seemed to heavy contrast with the darkness of the night, making their figure glow.

I was about to approach them, but then I realized that I was some guy holding a shield as tall as him, wandering in the middle of the night, and about to approach a person who is alone. Maybe I shouldn't have called both the maid and the Siren strange when I am in fact not the most normal person.

However, while I was debating that in my mind, the person suddenly stopped walking and turned back at me.

They were still too far away, so I couldn't distinguish their features but…something was wrong. I had assumed that they were wearing a white cape over their head or something, but nothing had changed now that they were facing me. Maybe the distance was playing tricks on me, but all I could see was a figure that vaguely resembled a person, but white, not even a trace of another color, it was completely and utterly white.

Then they started walking towards me.

"…!"

I had been trying to deny it, but I no longer could hide my anxiety. Neither this "person" nor this situation was normal, but as I raised Lord Camelot to defend myself, the lights of the lampposts began to fickle.

"Shit!"

The lights alternated between on and off, until it finally died, leaving me in the oppressive darkness.

I looked around frantically, as my eyes could see only black. No matter how much I moved my arms, I found nothing around me. It was as if the whole world has just disappeared and the only one that remained was me, alone in that sea of nothingness.

Time flowed weirdly; I couldn't recall how much I was lost in the darkness until the lights went on again.

And I saw her.

The white person was just in front of me, and now I could see her clearly.

She was without a doubt, a woman. Her entire body, except for the head, was completely hidden by a long white cape. Her hair, as white as her attire, was rather short, but long enough to cover her facial features apart from her mouth. To complete her ghostly appearance, all the skin that wasn't being hidden by either the hair or the cape was a colorless pale, like snow, like a sheet of paper…like death itself.

I wanted to run, my entire body ordered me to run from her but I couldn't… It was as if I was frozen in the place, unable to do anything besides looking at her.

The ghostly woman spoke, but no words came from her mouth. Then, from inside her cloak, came a hand as pale as the rest of her body and it moved slowly until it pointed to a certain direction in the city.

"Are you telling me…to go there?"

She didn't answer, instead, she hid her arm inside her attire once again, and turned back to leave.

"No…"

I didn't understand what had happened, but for some reason, I didn't want her to leave. My legs moved on their own, finally starting to work again, as I approached her.

"W-wait…! Don't go!" I put a hand on her shoulder.

She stopped and turned back to see me again.

A single eye peeked between her tufts of white hair, it wasn't white as the rest of her appearance but blue, blue as the darkened sky on a rainy day, blue as the depth of the ocean, a dark lifeless blue. Her gaze was devoid of light, as if any trace of life was taken away from it, leaving only an empty shell.

But what took my breath away wasn't just that, it was her face.

Her face was…she was…

"Mashu."

And then the lights died again.

* * *

After some time, I finally managed to find them. They were in a football fiend a couple of kilometers away from my apartment. I remembered that some kids from the school used to come there to play.

The strident sound of metal welcomed me, and the first thing I saw was Purifier, the Siren. She was standing proudly in front of the maid, her entire body was stained with small drops of blood. Meanwhile, the maid was desperately trying not to fall, her body full of wounds and her clothes torn.

"Oh?" Purifier looked back at me. "Fujimaru Ritsuka? Perfect timing!"

The maid used this opening to distance herself from the Siren. Then, a bright light began to cover her, taking some kind form around her.

Whatever she was trying to do, the heavy kick that Purifier quickly connected to her temple prevented her from completing it; that light disappeared as the defeated maid fell on the grass.

"There, that should make you relax for a bit."

The maid no longer moved, I was unsure if she was still alive.

"…"

That could be my fate if I don't play my cards right. Purifier wants information, and I want her ability to move between worlds, I have to convince her that she would rather get that information from me and not form my lifeless body.

"Fujimaru!"

"…!"

I almost had a heart attack, her face was already a few centimeters from mine, she got so close without me realizing!

"I am glad you came to play but…How did you know I was here? I was sure I got pretty far away from that alley."

"Eh…? How…?"

Good question, how did I know they were here? The moment I began to follow them, this fiend just naturally came to my mind.

"….a hunch, perhaps."

"A hunch…?" She looked at me weirdly. "Well, whatever, what's important is that you are here and we can continue…" She moved her right hand to touch my face, the black gloves she was wearing didn't hide the bloodstains on them.

I instinctively stepped back.

"You haven't answered me, though. Can you actually take to another world?"

She smiled.

"But of course, that's like a walk in the park for us. You just have to do me a little favor."

Yes, this is my opportunity.

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know, just a-"

"Kill her." she pointed at the fallen maid.

"Huh?"

"You should be able to, right? Using that "energy."

"…"

"It would be the perfect experiment, more useful than anything you can tell me." She walked around me. "Not only I can test if that energy of yours is capable of hurting us ships, but it also would prove your loyalty to us."

"Wait…that's…"

"Kill her." She repeated, finally put her hands on my face, the crimson drops on her school uniform quickly stained my clothes, the blood on her hands was cold. "And I assure you that you will be able to see Mashu again."

**END OF CHAPTER 3**

* * *

**AN:** still on exams, but I wanted to write some more, I should be totally free by next week. Thanks to everybody who wished me luck.


	4. Chapter 4: Enemy of my Enemy

**Chapter 4: Enemy of my Enemy**

I could hear the sound of my heart pumping blood like crazy in my chest.

"Ah…ah…ah…"

I felt breathless; no matter how much I tried, I couldn't seem to bring oxygen to my lungs.

My vision was blurred, and I had difficulty seeing my surroundings. As I looked down, I could see my hands, they were trembling, cold. Down below, besides my feet, was a sword.

Both of them were completely covered in blood, cold red blood.

But it was not my blood.

"Ah…ah…"

My eyes moved to the fallen man, just a few meters in front of me. The man had long since stopped moving, his mouth that previously had released a series of unintelligible groans went utterly silent. His eyes that had stared at me with rage now remained open, the light of his pupils lost.

"Ah..."

He was no longer there, he was dead.

"Why…?

He was a soldier, and like most of the French forces, he was clad in steel armor, adorned with a blue tabard.

So why? Why were my hands covered in blood, his blood? Why was the sword at my feet covered with that very same blood? I was only trying to fend him off, that's the only reason I took the sword, I wasn't supposed to actually use it…I…I didn't want to….

"Senpai!" A voice called for me; it was the girl that had become my Servant. A terrified expression crossed her face.

"Mashu…What have I done…?"

She rapidly approached me and surrounded myself with her arm.

"Senpai I…I am sorry! I was too late!" She cried. "If only I had been at your side, you wouldn't have had to…."

She continued talking, but I could no longer hear her. All I could think about was the man I just killed, and how his blood stained my hands.

* * *

"Get away from me!" I violently shook the Siren off me, but it was too late; my clothes were already stained with the maid's blood.

"Oh? What's wrong? Is that too much physical contact for you?"

"Just… don't act like we are close, I haven't agreed on anything yet." I came up with an excuse as I quickly hide my hands behind my back.

After all these years, they still tremble…

"Come on, you are the only human that survived more than 10 minutes after talking with me." She started to scrub her hands on her shorts, dyeing her attire even redder. "In my view, you have been my friend all your life."

"Friends? Do you usually try to kill all your friends?"

She gave a smug smile.

"Sometimes."

"Then I am afraid we don't share the same opinion."

"Ah, but you soon will." She declared. "When the Creator's plan gets in motion, I assure you will want to be with us rather than against us."

"The Creator?" I was sure I had heard that name before, how did they fit into all of this?

"That's why I am willing to take you under my wing." She ignored me and continued talking. "I'll even take you out for a walk in whatever world you like. The only thing you have to do is kill that maid for me, simple, right?"

My eyes instinctively went to the bloody figure of the maid.

"…"

Disregarding the fact that I didn't enjoy the idea of having to kill that woman, there was something fundamentally wrong with what Purifier was proposing.

"I think you misunderstood me, I am not interested in taking part in this plan of yours."

"Eh?" She looked me with a confused face, as if not understanding what I was trying to say.

"I'll tell you what you want to know…" A pause, my next words were painful. "I'll even give you this shield if you want to study it or whatever, but if you make me kill her, I…"

I don't know if I can. Killing someone who can't defend themselves is just…

No.

Stop.

Why am I thinking about this? This is not my fight, my fight is already over.

I don't need to do it again.

Never again.

"Just…just allow me to travel to a certain world." I practically begged." And then I promise, with my life, that I will remain there and never bother your kind again."

Purifier continued to stare me weirdly until she suddenly burst out laughing.

That ticked me off a bit.

"What's so funny?"

"Hahahaha it's just…" She couldn't even talk properly. "It's just that I think you are the one that didn't understand."

"Hey, I am being serious, I-"

Purifier suddenly appeared in front of me and put a finger in my lips.

"I like you."

"….!"

"I was not lying when I said I consider you a friend, you see. The rest of the Sirens aren't the most cordial beings. Alpha only likes to mess with the pawn's minds, and Beta is too rough with the humans and they die too quickly, so it's usually pretty boring to hang around them."

If that what she considers "boring" then I really don't want to know her definition of "exciting."

"You, on the other hand, are more interesting."She said and finally took her hand off my mouth, but started poking my chest instead. "Despite being a human, you have managed to surprise me more than I expected."

I tried to step back, but she followed me.

"First, a shield capable of withstanding attacks that would destroy human battleships with a single hit, then a mysterious energy that we have no knowledge about."

She moved her face close to mine; her golden eyes meet my gaze.

"I kind of want to see what other surprises you have stored for me."

No…I don't like where this is going, she's getting the wrong idea.

"You are expecting too much of me, Purifier, I am not like all of you."

The shield on my arm isn't mine, and I leave much to be desired as a magus. Even when I was a Master of Chaldea, there were times when I thought it was too much for someone like me.

What allowed me to continue despite that were them, my Servants…my friends. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here right now.

But without then I am…

"I am just a normal perso-!"

I couldn't finish, as I was suddenly grabbed me by the neck.

"Didn't I say that I would cut one of your limbs if you lied to me? Are you trying to test me, Fujimaru Ritsuka?"

"S-stop." With just one hand, she had wholly neutralized me; her grip was slowly depriving me of air.

"You aren't just a normal person or even a normal human. I see it in your eyes; you have seen things, experienced things that no normal human would ever experience."

"Purifier…!" For the first time since the night started, I dropped Lord Camelot, as I desperately tried to move her hand away, but it was useless, her grip was too secure.

"You are different from the rest." Her golden eyes glowed with a mad brightness. "Special, I dare say…"

She really was choking me. If she didn't let me go, I would…

"That's why I won't let you go just yet."

Suddenly, she released me, and I fell on my knees while desperately breathing for air.

"Taking you out of the board this early would just make this game a lot of less exciting."

"Ah…ah…I…." It was difficult to speak. "I am not…"

"Yes, you are." She kneeled in front of me so that I could see her face. "You won't get anywhere pretending this has nothing to do with you, you were already part of this game the moment you first talked to me."

"No! I…!"

She suddenly took both my hands with her own.

"After all."She made a small chuckle as she released them. "Your hands are already dirtied, aren't they?"

I lowered my gaze and looked at my trembling hands. They were red, the maid's blood was on my hands.

No…not again…why is this happening again? My hands…the maid's blood….it wasn't me.

This time, it's wasn't me.

"All that is left is for you to pick a side. Frankly, I don't care which one you choose, it would certainly be interesting if you choose us, but who knows? Maybe destroying all things you care about would be even more entertaining. You decide how we are going to play this game, Fujimaru Ritsuka."

She then moved her mouth close to my ear and whispered.

"Just remember." Her breath was frozen. "Mashu is waiting."

"...!"

She stood up; finally putting some distance between us, her golden eyes observed me, expectantly for an answer.

"You…" I held my hands together, trying to stop them from trembling. "You are sick."

Her smile didn't leave her face for even a second.

"Only by human's standards."

Damn you….damn you! I am an idiot, I am a colossal idiot. I should have known that things wouldn't be as simple as exchanging information.

This situation was only my fault, because I wanted to believe that there was a way to see Mashu again. I would have done anything to see her again.

But at what cost? Would Mashu be happy if I see her for a moment, only to be dragged away to a fight I know nothing about?

To a fight that will force to me kill once again?

She would be horrified.

I don't want to see her looking me like that, not again.

But what would happen if I don't side with these Sirens? Will they consider me their enemies? Will they try to kill me?

My eyes moved to the cause of all this.

I can barely keep up with Purifier, and she is obviously not trying to kill me. If she was serious, then I would undoubtedly lose my life.

No matter what I choose, I was trapped in this game.

And I had already lost.

…

…

…

I breathed deeply.

"I understand." I said, defeated. "I will do it."

"Good good! You made the correct choice." She started patting me on the back repeatedly. "Go for it then, it's all yours."

Yes, I will do it.

Since I have already lost, the only thing I can do now is to play this game.

* * *

Sheffield slowly opened her eyes.

Her body hurt a lot. It was actually the first time she got beaten to the point of losing consciousness.

She had underestimated her opponent; she should have released her rig from the start….No, maybe even with her rig, the fight would have been difficult. That Siren was on another level entirely.

As she tried to stand up, she realized she couldn't. No matter how much she tried, her body was too weakened.

"Ahh…Belfast? Can you hear me?" She said, trying to reach Belfast with the mental link, but nobody answered. Maybe she didn't have enough energy to establish it, or something in her body was so broken that she was incapable of it

She began to crawl with some difficulty. Even if it was painful, she couldn't just remain there. She had to warn the Royal Navy about the existence of that Siren; she wasn't someone to be underestimated, all of them would be necessary to face her.

However, a sound reached her ears.

Steps, someone was slowly coming closer.

The moment she moved her head to see who it was, she found the same man that was with that Siren before. He was walking in her direction, still carrying that massive cross-shaped shield with him.

The traitor.

Honestly speaking, it didn't surprise her that much that some humans may betray them. It was only natural; after all, humans can't help but destroy things and kill each other. That's what she had learned in those months in the lab. She was prepared to deal with them eventually.

But a human allying himself with the Sirens was another matter entirely. It wasn't just the normal human foolishness; it was a betrayal to the entire human race and a declaration of war to humanity. In her eyes, that human may as well had rejected his humanity.

In other words, she didn't have any obligation to protect him, as that man was no longer human.

That's why she didn't have a doubt in her mind. She had to kill him alongside the Siren, consequences be damned.

Unfortunately, she wasn't strong enough and failed.

But there was someone who was.

"Belfast, answer me."

Even if she tried to get away, she knew it was impossible to escape in her state. So at least she wanted to make her know that a human was working with the Sirens. That there was a high possibility of a Human-Siren alliance existing somewhere, waiting in the shadows to make their move.

The man was getting closer and closer as she noticed something, some kind of green lines ran down both his feet and arms. They glowed with a strangely bright, and sometimes they release small sparks as if electricity ran through them. She didn't remember having seen something like that before.

"That couldn't possibly be good." Sheffield thought.

She would typically disregard a human as a non-threat, but having seen firsthand how he blocked the attacks of those drones, she couldn't be sure. Who knows how contact with the Sirens had changed him.

Only a couple of meters separated her from the man.

It didn't matter if she was destroyed there, if she was able to contact her, Belfast would be able to do something.

She would trump where she failed, as she always does.

"Belfast…"

But her voice couldn't reach her after all; her attempts to reach Belfast were in vain.

She was alone.

The man now towered before her, his blue eyes observed her carefully.

"So, you were really still alive."

Sheffield couldn't fight back, she didn't have enough energy to materialize even one of her guns. So she just stared back, her gaze full of defiance.

"Don't look at me as if I were the worst thing in existence, you tried to kill me in cold blood. Your state right now is reversible, but what you tried to do me wasn't."

"A shame I failed, it would have been great not having to see your face again." She taunted him.

"You...Why do you hate me that much? I don't even know you."

"Fascinating." Sheffield continued. "To think you will even feign ignorance when you know too well what means to ally yourself with a Siren, you are truly quite something, pest."

"No, as a matter of fact, I have literally no idea. This morning I was teaching kids about the Roman Empire, and now I am suddenly getting attacked by drones, schoolgirls, and maids without getting any explanation." He breathed deeply. "Give me a break, will you?"

Kids? Roman Empire? Sheffield didn't understand what he was trying to say. To begin with, why was he talking to her if she was getting killed? Must be a tactic to confuse her, she thought.

"…You talk too much, is your plan killing me from boredom? If you are going to do it, at least do it properly."

She was prepared for this day, the only thing she regretted was not being more useful to the Royal Navy before her death.

He released another deep breath, looking tired.

"I am not killing anyone today, much less you."

"Eh..?" Sheffield sure wasn't expecting that answer.

"In fact, I need you."

"Eh!?" Sheffield really wasn't expecting that answer. If the human wanted to confuse her, then he had succeeded.

"Shhhh. Quite, she'll hear us."

"I-I am not sure what are you trying to do, but you won't fool-"

"Shut up." He interrupted her. "I hate this as much as you, believe me, I can't just brush it off what you tried to do. However, I can't change the fact that I need your help against that Siren."

"…I feel insulted. Do you expect me to believe such obvious deception? Why would you betray your allies?"

"First of all, we aren't allies, I thought they could help me with something, but they can't, and now I am trapped in this fight. Second, if we don't cooperate, we are going to die, both of us."

"I would gladly die before working with a traitor."

"How many times should I-?" He stopped, realizing he wasn't going anywhere. "Look, I really want to explain the situation, but she is watching us right now, so excuse me."

"What do you-"

Suddenly, he raised his arm and, with a tremendous force, he hit the ground just beside her head.

The earth broke, an enormous hole was formed around them, and the land just next to his fist appeared to be pulverized.

"That strength…"

"That should buy us some time." Immediately afterward, he freed his other hand of the shield and moved it towards the maid. "We don't stand a chance against her on our own, but together maybe…we can manage to live long to see tomorrow, and you know what? That's all I want right now."

He put his hand on her, and a green light began to shine.

Sheffield didn't understand at first until something began to change inside her. The pain of her wounds was slowly disappearing; her muscle could move again a little, and her sense began to clear.

For the first time since she was created, Sheffield was speechless, and even if she wasn't, she wouldn't know where to start.

"This is just the most basic healing."He commented while using the shield to cover the light. "I am not even sure if it's going to works on the likes of you, but it's worth the try."

Sheffield wanted to say something, to ask how that he was doing it, how he was healing her only with his bare hands, without any equipment like in the lab.

"Your wounds are closing. It seems like even a mediocre magus like me can do this much."

She had estimated that this amount of damage would take weeks to heal, maybe months, but her wounds were disappearing in mere seconds.

Just who was that man? No, what was he?

After a couple of minutes, the light finally vanished.

"Alright, hopefully, this should be enough. Can you move?"

"Yes…" She couldn't say more as she was still in shock.

"Good." He continued. "As for the Siren, I can block her attack one time, probably two if she gets cocky. Once she is fixed on me, you should be able to attack her by surprise."

"I already tried that." She finally could answer as she remembered her battle with her."That won't kill her."

"I am not asking for that. We just need time to stop her enough to let us escape."

"That won't work either, she is faster than either of us. She'll catch us in no time."

"That's why we'll be running in opposite directions." He continued explaining his plan. "Once she starts chasing one, the other should be able to gain enough distance to be safe."

"But then one of us would die either way, and we can't know who she will go for first. What an awful plan."

She made no comment about how a human wouldn't be able to escape from a Siren even with an advantage, as she was starting to doubt the man's status as a human.

"Better than no plan at all." He took his shield again."I know, it's a gamble, but at least one of us will survive."

He was about to stand up when Sheffield stopped him.

"I didn't say anything about helping you. You wasted your efforts."

"Then we are going to die. She is going to kill you now, and I may live a bit longer, but she will eventually come for me. As I am not on her "side", I will face your same fate, sooner or later."

"…"

"Just think what's more important. To die here or to have at least a small chance to survive. The decision is yours."

Sheffield wanted to argue but couldn't, as the man stood up and turned around to face someone else.

The Siren was watching them with a grave expression.

He immediately stood between her and the Siren, putting his shield in front of him. As if he was trying to protect her.

Sheffield still didn't understand the man or his motives, she didn't even know if he was human. But she could be sure of one thing: she really disliked him, more than any other human she had come across.

* * *

.

* * *

"Oh? That was a good punch, but it seems you missed her head." Purifier stared at me. "I'll let you try again."

She already knows, without a doubt.

"I won't do it, Purifier."

"…So you didn't want to see Mashu that much after all, huh?" She frowned, clearly not amused. "Is that the extent of your ambition? You would stop just to spare someone you don't even know?"

"You don't understand. I wouldn't be able to face Mashu if I did this."I clenched fist. "I want to see her again, I want to talk to her, laugh with her but… I wouldn't be able to do that knowing what I did." I looked at her in the eyes. "Or who I helped."

"Ah, you hurt me, Fujimaru Ritsuka." She feigned a pained expression. "Are you actually rejecting me? I thought we were friends!"

"I am still not sure what you really want, but your words, your actions...everything tells me that following you would lead me to a path I am not willing to follow. If that means that I am not on your "side" then so be it. "

I bring the shield in front of me, adopting a defensive position.

She looked at me with a dull expression, probably angry that I ignored her antics.

"Seems like you chose the other side of the board."

"You forced me to."

"Alright, if that's how it's going to be...we'll be opponents." She said, somewhat disappointed. "The least I expect is a good fight, so don't die too quickly." She began to approach."Now, I'll be nice and let you go, you have until I finish killing that maid."

This…! This could be my chance to escape, even if she was fast, with my reinforcement I should be able to run until she couldn't find me.

However, leaving after I said all that to the maid would be no different from killing her myself.

And as I said, I am not killing anyone today.

I stood in Purifier's way, not allowing her to reach the maid.

"You are underestimating me."

"Huh?"

"Didn't you say we are opponents now?" I began to taunt her. "And you're just going to let me leave?"

I am presuming that I understood Purifier's character correctly. If this fails, the whole plan fails.

"…I am not sure what you are trying to do." Her tone was serious. "But if you play with fire, you are going to get burned, Fujimaru Ritsuka."

"Play? that's exactly what I want."

"…?"

"Let's play a game, Purifier."

**END OF CHAPTER 4**

* * *

**AN: **My exams were canceled, two weeks of study to the trash. Thanks corona.

Anyway, sorry for the wait, this chapter was a bit difficult to write. Sheffield passive-aggressive attitude was hard, Purifier not so much.

Next chapter should be the end of this introductory arc.

See you next chapter, and stay safe guys.

P.D: thanks to Fleece Johnson for proofreading this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5: A Throne of Oil and Steel

**Chapter 5: A Throne of Oil and Steel**

"A game?" Purifier repeated, doubtful. "You want to play a game with me?"

If I understood her correctly, she is someone who likes challenges. There is no way she would reject something that makes the fight more interesting.

"Yes."

Or at least I was counting on that.

"Heh." Her mouth contorted into a smile as she chuckles. "What do you have in mind?"

As expected, she took the bait.

"It's simple, really; I'll grant you one hit." I put my other hand on top of Lord Camelot. "Hit me as hard as you can, I'll block it."

"Oh? So a game of strength, pretty straightforward, but are you sure about it?" She began to look at her surroundings. "If I use my strongest attack, this city may disappear."

...that would be disastrous.

I don't doubt that she is capable of that, but I should keep pushing. If she really wanted to destroy the city, she would have done it already.

"Doesn't matter." I did my best to sound relaxed. "Whatever you throw at me, this shield will block it."

"Is that so?" She was amused. "Weren't you saying before that you consider yourself just a normal human? Where is that sudden confidence coming from?"

Now it was my turn to smile.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Eh?"

"This is shield isn't just a piece of equipment; it's much more than that. This shield is the crystallization of Mashu Kirielight's feelings. It's her wish to protect her friends and loved ones. It's her desire to protect everyone before anything…even before her own life."

Initially, Lord Camelot belonged to Galahad, the Servant that fused with Mashu's body, and one of the Knights of the Round Table. When spoken its true name, it recreates those fabled white walls that shielded castle Camelot. That's how it was originally used by Mashu.

In my hands, however, it should have been nothing more than a sturdy shield, a Noble Phantasm that lost its user, a useless weapon.

Despite that, this shield followed me to this world after the last battle, and never abandoned me since then. It became a symbol of her to me, a reminder of her sacrifice.

I am sorry, Galahad, but I can't just see you as the owner of this shield anymore. The only one I will recognize is Mashu Kyrielight.

"That's why I know, no matter what you do, this shield will never break."

"You really trust that shield a lot, don't you? I wonder if that trust is properly placed."

"I would bet my life on that."

"You are certainly doing that, asking me to use my strongest attack….fufufu." She happily laughed, apparently finding the situation very funny. "Alright, let's do it then, but I can't guarantee I won't kill you by accident."

"Wait, since I am betting my life, it would be only natural that you bet something too."

"You want something of me, Fujimaru Ritsuka? Maybe you still want that ticket to the other world where your girlfriend is alive?"

"My girlf-…you…!"

Stop. Control yourself, Ritsuka. She is trying to provoke you, don't lose your temper.

"No, I don't. In fact, I don't want anything to do with you." I managed to stay focused. "If I block your attack, then you will leave me alone forever."

Obviously, I didn't actually believe that she would fulfill that kind of bet, but I had to pretend that the outcome of this game was vital to me.

"Ehhhh!? But I would lose you either way!"

".L-lose me? What are you talking about?"

"I will lose my precious friend."

"That again?" I was a bit taken aback. "We aren't friends, you said it, we are on opposites side now! What's wrong with you?"

"That doesn't mean we can get along, though."

Silence.

Words couldn't express my disbelievement.

"Just...what is this for you? Are you actually fighting for something, or is everything just a game for you?"

"Well, I think I cared at some point about the Creator's plan, but you see…once you do the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, you began to stop caring." Her smile lost its usual cheerfulness, and only an indifferent expression remained. "I think I stopped caring around the 5.785.147th time? Maybe one million more give or take?

"You…How long have you been doing this….? No. How old are you?"

She smiled again.

" Why count at all? Age is irrelevant; it doesn't mean anything to us."

"…"

These Sirens …just what are they? Their nature is not magical, but they seemed to defile any kind of common sense, more than any mystery I had come across.

Will science surpass magecraft by such a large margin in the future? Or are their abilities born from something other than science and mystery?

"What? You expected me to be younger than you?" She gave me a smug smile. "Are you disappointed, Fujimaru Ritsuka? You only like them young?

"…"

I feel how a headache was starting to assault my mind. No matter the topic, I always found myself completely lost for words when talking to this being.

Ah, I am so tired of this.

"Do you accept the bet or not?" I tried to get us back to the matter at hand.

"Yeah sure, but let's change the rules a bit. If I manage to break that shield without killing you, then I will take you with me to the winning side."

"Winning side? I thought you said you didn't care which side I was."

"Nothing is set in stone yet. You are still free to join us if you want, Fujimaru Ritsuka."

"Will you ask me to kill again?"

"It wouldn't be fun if I didn't."

"Then, my answer is still the same, I refuse."

"Well." She began to crack her fist. "Then, I only have to force you."

She is focused on me now, this should give the maid an opening to attack.

As I prepared to take the blow, I looked at Lord Camelot.

All I said about Mashu's feelings was true; I did believe that this shield was her symbol. However, I am not so idealistic to think that feelings alone would be enough to stop an attack that would typically kill me.

My confidence laid in facts, Lord Camelot resisted an attack that could incinerate humanity, and nothing that Purifier throws me could compete with that.

Or that's what I believed before knowing that she is apparently older than Goetia.

Just what kind of life could a creature that lives so long lead? Could it even be called life?

"Alright!" Purifier was pumped up as always. "Are you ready?"

"Come." I took my shield with force and planted my feet firmly on the land. "Hit me with all you got!"

"Don't mind if I do!"

She dashed towards me, her fist raised to punch the shield.

In less than a second, she was practically in front of me. I could see how her fist quickly connected to Lord Camelot.

A strident metallic sound was born from that clash, one that left me deaf for a couple of seconds. It was immediately followed by an expansive wave, similar to that of an explosion, that raised a curtain of dust, agitated the grass around us, and forced me back a few steps, even with my reinforcement.

No, it was thanks to that magic that I hadn't been thrown back a couple of kilometers.

She was strong, but not enough to surpass Lord Camelot, as I expected. However, it wasn't time to celebrate yet, as this was nothing more than a distraction.

"Maid! " I turned back as I shouted. "Do it n-"

My words died in my mouth, as I saw a disheartening sight. My eyes couldn't find the maid anywhere, she wasn't there.

"You…you ran away…?" Those idiotic words left my mouth. The maid has disappeared, leaving me alone to face inevitable death.

I was betrayed.

I could have run! I could have left you there to be killed, and you do this to me!? Rage invaded my body as I regretted my decision to trust her.

However, I couldn't let myself be consumed in rage, so I redirected that anger to the Siren in front of me, who hadn't moved since she hit the shield. I had to move quickly and punch her with my other reinforced hand. Even if it wasn't enough to defeat her, I should be able to delay her a little before I try my escape.

But as I turned around to hit her, I noticed something.

Purifier, the ever so crazy Siren, wore an expression of complete surprise. Her golden eyes were opened as plates, and her mouth was hanging a bit open.

It was so strange seeing her so shocked that I couldn't help but look at what she was watching with such awe.

And then I saw it, her hand, the one that was still touching the shield, was completely drenched in red blood. The black glove that previously covered it was destroyed and small drops of blood were quickly dripping off her closed fist, dirtying the shield as her entire right arm was trembling.

Even if I knew her attack would be ineffective, I never thought that the backlash would do some much damage to her arm. She must have used a lot of force.

"You…." Her voice, like a whisper, made me look back at her face. "…hurt me."

Her eyes meet mine, her gaze was one of disbelief as if everything she thought she knew was a lie.

"You…hurt me." She repeated. "A human…hurt me."

She lowered her face.

"Ah…ah….ah…" Her breath was agitated, she really didn't seem okay.

Did I just…break her spirit? Was being hurt by a human too much for her?"

"Ah…ah…ah…aha…ahaha…ahahahaha."

It started with a quiet laugh, almost a chuckle.

"Ahahaha…ahahah…ahahaahaha."

But it quickly escalated to a mad laugh.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Her laugh was so loud that I swear it could be heard from kilometers around. "A human hurt me! He destroyed my arm all by himself! I have never had so much fun in my life! HAHAHA HAHAHA!

Was she…happy? Happy that her arm ended up like that because of me…?

"Purifier…"

I thought that I understood her a bit, but I was wrong. How her mind worked was still a mystery to me.

"Hahahahahahah." After almost a minute, her laugh finally began to die down. "Hahahaha…you...haha...you…." She finally stopped laughing as she slowly began to raise her head. "You."

As I meet her eyes again, I could see the deep madness on them, the aura they gave off was impossible to describe, not even comparing with the Berserker Servants I had met I could find an equal.

Yes, the light on the eyes of Caligula was crazy, and there was never really a moment where I one hundred percent understand Spartacus. But that was different; there was something deep inside them, a desire or a passion that made them what they were.

I found nothing like that on those eyes, they were devoid of any reason or desire.

And the worst of it was that I couldn't stop staring at them. The more I looked into them, the more I felt like losing myself, as if I was being swallowed by the insanity in them.

A golden spiral of insanity.

* * *

The platform slowly descended towards the base. The crystal windows allowed me to appreciate the aquatic flora in all its glory for most of the travel. It's been a couple of minutes since all light has disappeared.

We must be finally reaching the depths.

"Will I finally meet him?" I asked my companion.

"Yeah, he has been waiting for a long time. Are you nervous?"

"A bit. It's a like meeting my father-in-law now that I think about it."

She laughed.

"I am sure he will like you. Especially if you gift him something like this."

Purifier toyed with the golden cup in her hands, inspecting it from top to bottom.

"Oi, don't play with that."

"Can it really grant wishes?"

"Yeah."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"What about a more handsome boyfriend?

I chuckled.

"Sadly, that's not possible."

"I'll have to settle with you then."

Her lips met mine in a light kiss, which I responded with another, more passionate one.

"I love you." I said as I embraced her.

"And I love you too."

"And I hate both of you." A new voice joined the conversation, it seems like the elevator has finally reached its destination while we were talking.

Much like Purifier, the person who talked had golden eyes and long silver hair. Her attire was also a bit similar, apart from the black metallic boots and shorts of the same color she was wearing a black cut-out dress and in her head rested two black horn-like protuberances.

"You are just envious that I won, Beta." Purifier hugged my arm happily.

"Ah, Beta, good day." I made a small nod. "How were things going in our absence?"

Beta was clearly annoyed.

"Same as usual, we have already crushed most of the resistance, the ones who are left are not worth spending resource on."

"Still, underestimating them may be unwise. You should take Alpha with you and destroy them once for all, just in case."

"If you say so." The hostility in Beta's words couldn't be hidden. "Commander."

Without another word, she walked towards the elevator and disappeared as the door closed before her.

"I think she really hates me."

"She hates all humans, just give her time." Purifier tried to reassure me. "She can't ignore what we have accomplished with your help."

"Well, maybe her opinion will change after I meet him." I said, looking at the gigantic mechanical door in front of us.

"It's time, right?"

"Yeah, let's meet him." Purifier took my hand on hers. "Let's meet the Creator."

The door slowly began to rise, as a bright light illuminated the room.

* * *

"…!"

Suddenly, I felt like I was in control of my body again and immediately understood why, Purifier closed her eyes, that freed me from that...vision. I don't know how much time had passed since I lost myself in her eyes, but I felt like I spent more than a couple of minutes.

What I saw back then could wait, because what awaited me the moment I recover my consciousness was something I wasn't prepared for.

A cold but ultimately pleasant sensation touched my lips, followed by the soft feeling of lips meeting mines.

Her skin was like touching ice, it was so cold that it burned. It hurt at first, but as the seconds passed, my body somewhat got used to it, to the cold caress of the Siren.

It didn't last long, though; as soon as it started, it had already ended. It wasn't a furious or passionate kiss like one would expect of a being like Purifier. It was just a peck, almost too pure for someone like her.

Purifier separated her lips from mine, as she opened her eyes to look at me.

"You are the one. I found you."

I was once again speechless.

What was that? How did you do it? Why did you do it? Why did you show me that? Was that just an illusion or…?

I wanted to ask all that, but before I could even try, I saw the maid, a couple of meters behind Purifier. She was pointing at us not only with her regular guns but with a series of cannons that seems to grow from her back

"Move if you don't want to die."

"…!"

I hit the ground with force, and manage to put a reasonable distance between me and Purifier, who remained there even though she should have heard the maid. Instead, she turned back to see her.

"So that's where you we-"

Her words were silenced as the maid shot her multiple cannons.

Purifier rapidly disappeared under the bombardment that quickly filled the area with black smoke and dust and made the earth tremble.

I wasn't close enough to be affected by the explosions, but I hide behind Lord Camelot just in case the debris managed to reach me.

"Damn you maid, when I said "attack her," I didn't mean destroy one-quarter of the football field…."

Not that I argued about the results, Purifier was pretty much caught off guard, and if the bullets the maid used earlier were enough to hurt her, then even her shouldn't be able to remain unscratched after such bombardment.

"Pest." While I thought that a voice suddenly could be heard from behind me.

"Maid." I didn't need to turn back to know who it was. "I thought you had run away."

"I am not in the habit of running away from my problems." As she said that, I could feel something cylindrical being pushed into the back of my head. "And you won't be running either."

"…I thought I said I had nothing to do with that, Siren."

"Do you kiss people you have nothing to do with?"

"…"

I really wanted to explain the situation, but saying something like "I was hypnotized by her eyes so I didn't notice she was kissing me." sounded so lame in my head that I chose not to say anything.

"I am not sure what you are, but it's clear that something is going on with you and the Sirens. That's why you are coming with me."

"To where?"

"The Royal Navy headquarters, for interrogation."

"Are you going to shoot if I say no?"

"Without hesitation."

"Really?" I slowly turn back to see her. "Are you really going to shoot?"

She was a bit taken aback with my sudden bravado but didn't stop pointing her gun at me.

Now that I had a closer look at her, I noticed that her cannons were connected to something I could only describe as ship parts. I could distinguish something resembling a prow split in half, and the barrels themselves were similar to naval artillery.

"What makes you think that I can't exterminate you right now?

"The fact that you are talking to me. You didn't need a reason to shoot me before, so something must have changed."

"…"

"Besides, if you didn't care if I died or not, then you wouldn't have shouted such obvious warning before shooting at the Siren." I continued. "You need me alive, don't you?"

"…"

If looks could kill, then her stare would have killed me at least several times now.

"You are coming with me." She ordered again. "We need you to be alive, yes, but I still could-" Her words died on her mouth as the gun on her hand suddenly lost its form and disappeared."What? What's going- arrggh."

An expression of pain appeared on her face as she brought her hand to her head.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Shut…up, I am…"

"You can't even talk, you are not alright."

"I'll bring you….to our…" She couldn't continue, the ship parts and cannons suddenly disappear from her body as she began to fall.

But before she could fall entirely, I manage to catch her.

"I told you that it was just basic healing, this was bound to happen if you fought seriously, you're exhausted."

While I held her, I noticed how small she felt. I had failed to see that she was indeed a bit shorter than me, probably because in all our interactions, I thought about her as superhuman being capable of kicking my ass in seconds if I let my guard down.

"Don't…touch…."

"Sorry, it was a reflex. Should have I let you dive face-first to the ground?"

"…ugh."

"Seems like you pushed yourself too hard using those cannons." She didn't even have the energy to retort. "Well, it works for me, now I don't have to deal with you."

"Pest…" She wanted to continue, but lost the last of her strength and passed out.

"I am afraid I am going nowhere with you, but you should be happy." I said as I gently lowered her body on the ground. "Your wish will come true, you'll never have to see my face again."

Now that the Siren was beaten and the maid is out of commission, it's my perfect chance to get away from this mess. Sadly, I didn't find a way to see Mashu again, but nothing good will come if I continue getting involved in this fight.

"Yeah, nothing good…"

That vision…could that be...

"You were right, Ritsuka."

A voice I knew too well stopped my thoughts and made my blood froze.

"I did underestimate you." The voice was coming from the black smoke that was rising from where the maid had shot her artillery.

Suddenly, the smoke was forcefully repelled by a strong current of air, revealing what was behind.

Between the scorched earth and the burning grass stood Purifier. Her ponytail got undone, and now her long silver hair fell untamed on her whole body. Most of her clothes were in tatters revealing how her entire body was covered in red burn wounds. Aside from that, one of her arms, the right one, hanged motionless from her shoulder.

But her state wasn't what took my breath away, it was the giant machine-like shark hovering behind her. It had a similar look to the drones she had used, with black color and futuristic yellow lines, but this one was a lot of bigger, even bigger than Purifier herself.

"It won't happen again." She smiled. "My friend."

"You…survived."

"It takes a lot more than this to take me out." She began to walk towards me. "I am not going anywhere now that I found you."

"Found me…?" I instinctively moved back.

Had she grown tired of playing around? Was that shark her actual power? I didn't want to find out.

I was determined to run away, but then I remembered the maid. She was still lying unconscious there.

If I left her there, she was going to get killed.

"You are still thinking about her even now?" Purifier noticed. "Why do you care so much about someone who tried to kill you?"

"…It's not about caring or not. I just don't like seeing people die in front of me."

"Is that so? Then what about me? Would you save me if I were about to die?"

"…"

I am not that naïve, I know that you can't just spare everyone.

In a war, refusing to kill the enemy only means letting your allies get hurt. If we had allowed Goetia to do as he wanted, then all humanity would have been wiped out.

Pacifism is just a fool's dream.

If didn't do what I did in the first singularity, then I wouldn't be here right now, I wouldn't be asking myself if it's okay to kill or not, in that regard, Purifier is no different from that French soldier.

And even knowing all that, there isn't a moment that his death doesn't weigh on me.

"Even if you have caused me troubles, I don't desire your death, Purifier."

Far from being content, she looked furious.

"That's the same mentality that led the others to their demise."

"The others…?"

"The other Commanders, they were the same as you, heroic, considerate, always thinking about their ship girls' welfare before their own." She frowned. "That's boring, so utterly boring. Imagine always facing the same kind idiot in charge." Her eyes went to the motionless body of the maid. "They were never capable of pulling the trigger when they should!"

The metallic shark dashed toward the maid, but stopped as I shielded her with Lord Camelot. It didn't have eyes, but I could fell how it stared at me, like a predator staring at its prey.

"And if you follow their steps, you will end up like them." Purifier made a sign with her hand, and the shark went back beside her."However, you aren't beyond saving yet." Her usual smile returned to her face. "I still can see that desire in your eyes, that dissatisfaction inside you, that feeling of uselessness when she died, the guilt still eats you up inside, right?."

"…!"

A series of images flashed through my mind.

A cheerful girl, a golden cup, a kiss.

"You wanted to go to another world to see Mashu again, but with our help, that won't even be necessary. You can just avoid her death altogether. "She extended her still functional hands towards me. "Come with us, Ritsuka. You only need to abandon that naïve idea of refusing to kill, only then, will be able to overcome that guilt and find true peace."

A mechanical door being open, a blinding light.

"No…that's…"

A red sky, piles of bodies, a throne made of machines and oil.

"You saw it too, right? That's the future."

Me, sitting on that very same throne.

"Your future."

"NO!"

I took the unconscious body of maid and ran from there, from that horrible image that seemed to have come from hell itself.

That can't possibly be the future, I am not like that.

That's not me.

* * *

Purifier observed how Ritsuka abandoned the place; his expression was one of tremendous fright.

She couldn't lie to herself, she was a bit unhappy seeing the only friend she had rejecting her like that. However, she also knew that this was a necessary step.

"Even if your time with them may be short, I sincerely hope you make them happy, Ritsuka. Just how you are going to do with me."

**END OF CHAPTER 5**

* * *

**AN: **One chapter left to end this arc.


	6. Chapter 6: Strings

**Chapter 6: Strings**

I was running again.

It felt like I have done nothing but run the entire night, running from the drones, running from Purifier, running from those images in my mind. At some point, running had become my default answer for whatever problem I may find in my way.

Even now, all I am thinking of is leaving this country for good, before those Sirens could begin to make their move.

How pathetic.

…

However, this time was different, as I was not alone.

My eyes went to the still unconscious maid on my shoulder. I took her on a whim, only thinking that if I left her there, she would be killed.

Only when I had run for a couple of meters, did I realize my mistake. Running while holding Lord Camelot was one thing, balancing both the shield and her body was another matter entirely, especially at the speed my reinforced legs allowed me to reach.

As a result, my speed was significantly reduced. If Purifier had wanted, she could have easily caught us.

"But you are not even following us, right?" I stopped my legs, waiting for the crazy Siren to pop up of nowhere.

But the seconds passed, and she didn't.

I released a deep sigh.

"Has she finally grown tired of me…? No, that's unlikely; she seemed pretty serious this time."

"Come with us, Ritsuka." Her words still lingered in my head." You only need to abandon that naïve idea of refusing to kill, only then, will find true peace."

"True peace… was she talking about that vision? About that supposed future?"

I did look happy in it. Too happy in fact, considering I was giving a Grail to an unknown and possibly murderous entity.

"..."

I can't say that I am unhappy with my current life, being a teacher in England sure wasn't what I had in mind when I was younger, but it's not a bad life by any means.

However, I can't lie to myself.

I felt a lot of things when I first came to this world: confusion, fear, loneliness, sadness…most of these disappeared over time. But the only thing that didn't disappear was a certain feeling…it's a bit challenging to describe with words.

It's like when you know that something or someone should be there, but it's not. It's like I lacked something, something significant.

"Chaldea…"

Maybe that's the reason why my life feels incomplete, losing Chaldea left a big hole in my life. The memories of my time there keep coming back, no matter how many years had passed.

Is Purifier telling me that if I follow her, I will be able to forget about Chaldea…? I can't see that happening honestly.

Those visions had to be fake, something Purifier created to confuse me and make me join her side. That's the only explanation possible.

"Besides, I will never do something as ridiculous as sitting on a throne. What I was supposed to be, a king? Heh. I am already picturing Gilgamesh killing on the spot after seeing something like that."

Yeah, I should stop thinking about those things, and focus on more pressing matters.

"Like what the hell I am going to do with you." I said to the sleeping maid.

Obviously, I got no response.

* * *

"Ay…ay...it hurts!" cried Purifier as she touched her right hand in the hope of making it work again. "To think I would end up like this after a reconnaissance mission...ay!"

Now that she was alone, she could stop playing it cool, her right hand really hurt, to the point she was beginning to question why the Creator made her being able to feel pain in the first place.

Unfortunately for her, the damage was too extensive; she would need extensive care to move her hand again.

"She won't be happy with this…ay." She looked to the floating shark beside her. "I am sorry Phyrna, I think we won't be going home for a while. At least until the situation calms…Phryna?" She stopped, as she noticed how the golden lights of the shark started to flick. "Uh…Phryna? What's wrong?"

The machine made a strange sound, like a mix between television static and a cry, only to suddenly fall on the ground.

"Phryna!?" She approached the machine, which started to move erratically as if it was convulsing. "Come on, it's not time to play dead, we have to hurry before…"

"Purifier." A quiet voice reached her, but it wasn't coming from around her, it was more like the voice speak directly on her mind.

She slowly turned her head to find a ghostly figure. In front of her was a woman wearing a long white cape, the same color of her shoulder-length hair, which hid most of her facial features.

Not that Purifier needed to see her face, she instantly recognized her.

"Ah…Zero…fancy meeting you here." The Siren was visibly nervous." I was just about to return to the base…."

The figure didn't respond. Instead, she moved her pale arm out of her white attire and raised three fingers.

"Eh…? Three? What are you trying to say, Zero? Oh! Are we playing guess-!?" She couldn't continue as her body was forced to the ground by an invisible force.

"You...you don't really need to do that." Purifier could only use one hand to support her sudden heavier body. "I understood. That's how much you have to walk, wiping the memories of the humans that saw me, right? Could it be…three blocks?"

The force that pushed her to the ground grew stronger.

"Okay...okay…was it three kilometers?"

This time, the force lessened a bit, and Purifier knew that was the correct answer.

"I am sorry!" Purifier tried to excuse herself. "But you see, I found this amazing human and…!" Again she was forced to bow again, hitting her head on the ground.

"Humans." The ghostly figure spoke with a calm tone despite her actions. "Forbidden."

"But this one is special! I think I found the human we have been looking for! The one we need for the experiments!"

"Too early." She continued, her words were like a whisper.

"I know how it sounds! The Azur Lane of this world hasn't even formed yet, but…" She looked at her right hand. "No human had managed to hurt a Siren this much before. It's fair to assume that he is already surpassed our standards."

"That human." The apparition shook her head in denial."Not impressive at all."

"Heh, I made that same mistake at first." Purifier responded with a knowing smile."If you underestimate him Zero, then even you may end up defeated like me."

A blue eye peeked between her tufts of hair, as she angrily frowned.

"He is my friend, after all." The crazy Siren declares, with confidence.

"...Foolish." She turned around, apparently ending the conversation. "Return now or face punishment."

Having said that, she walked away a few steps, until her figure lost form and disappear in the air.

At the moment the ghostly figure faded, the mechanic shark returned to normal. It approached to the still fallen Purifier, seeking for a caress like an everyday dog.

"Are you alright? The bad Siren already left." She patted it a bit. "We will have to return, sadly." She released a deep breath. "And I wanted to play with Fujimaru a bit more…"

The shark made a noise as if to answer Purifier.

"Yeah, don't worry, we'll come back later, no matter if Zero wants it or not."A crazy smile appeared on her face. "Not like she will continue to give orders for much longer."

Purifier tried, but couldn't contain a small laugh.

* * *

After what appeared to be an eternity, I could finally see the door of my apartment.

Never I had so much difficulty trying to return home. First, I had to make sure that no one was there to see me carrying an unconscious woman, then I had to use magecraft to enter the building because obviously, I didn't bring my keys when I jumped out of the window.

Not that I knew any spell for opening doors, I just reinforced my hand and broke the lock, adding damage to private property to my future criminal record.

In fact, I am already lucky that nobody decided to call the police after hearing the mess Purifier did. The neighbors must have heard something, or is that they are all heavy sleepers?

The front door is broken now anyway, so I wouldn't be surprised if the policemen show up tomorrow. My own door was forced by Purifier so it's not like they would think I am the culprit but….there is still something here that I can't explain.

This woman, sleeping peacefully on my sofa.

"Really…what am I going to do if the police ask about you?"

"It's okay officer, this is my personal maid which I pay with my school teacher salary, nothing illegal here." is not going to work.

Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea to bring her here, but it's not like I could just throw her in the street. Not that she is going to be much cooperative after waking up either.

"…"

Maybe I should really abandon the country, I still have some saving from back them…ah, but I am not going to find any flights at this hour. It must be like 3 or 4 am, maybe even later.

"Ahhh...Guess I will have to stay here." I took a chair and sit in front of the sofa. "You and that Siren have caused me so much trouble." I release a deep breath, resigned. "And I don't even know your name."

At this point, getting involved is inevitable. Even bringing her here may have been an act against those Siren.

"…I should ask her when she wakes up, if I am getting dragged to this fight, I may as well get all the information possible."

I just hope she is willing to talk things out, especially knowing her tendencies of shooting first and asking later.

* * *

It didn't take long for the football field to become no different from a crime scene, with policemen guarding the perimeter in front of security tape and crowds of people in black coming and going from there.

In the center of all the tumult was a large tent, destined to hide from the passersby the remains of the battle that took place there. Inside it, two women were talking.

"They were here, without a doubt." The Commander said upon looking at the enormous black crater on the ground. "The question is, where did they go?" She looked at the other woman, who was directly in the center of the crater. "Did Sheffield say anything else?"

"I am afraid not." Belfast answered while inspecting the burned land. "The communication was short; she only managed to tell me her location before the link was cut off. It's likely that she didn't have much time to talk."

"…."

A thought fluttered in Commander Marcia's head, but she wasn't sure if it was proper to voice it out.

"Belfast, can I ask you something?"

"Naturally."

"I need you to be honest with me. Do you believe that Sheffield could have been destroyed?"

It was just a single second, but Marcia could swear that an expression of shock crossed Belfast's face.

"I am sorry, Commander, but I don't quite follow you."

But before the Commander could react, she found the same neutral expression she was accustomed to.

Was it her imagination or…?

"Sorry, I didn't explain it properly." Marcia tried to ignore it."The last we knew about Sheffield is that she was fighting the Siren, correct? However, the Siren disappeared from our radars just recently, and few blocks from here, so it's likely that she managed to escape."

"In other words. You believe that Sheffield lost her fight against the Siren?"

Marcia nodded.

"There is also the fact that she was forced to use her rigging. I know that she is not really enthusiastic about following orders, but that suggests that the battle wasn't going on her favor."

"…"

Her silence tells her everything.

Even if Marcia didn't fully understand Belfast, she could see how much she cared about her companions. The thought of her losing a friend must have saddened even the stoic maid.

"I know it's hard, but we need to consider all -"

"It's true." Before Marcia could try to comfort her, Belfast spoke again."Your deduction makes sense, Commander. However, I don't believe she would have let herself be killed so easily."

"Are you sure about that? Or are your emotions speaking for you, Belfast?"

"My emotions have nothing to do with this. Sheffield isn't someone who would just accept her death before accomplishing her mission. If she had considered she couldn't win, then she would have given me information about the Siren instead of telling me her location."

Marcia could feel the conviction in Belfast's words. She spoke as if she knew Sheffield all her life instead of just a couple of months.

"So you think she would prioritize the information rather than her life?

"Exactly. The fact that she chose to tell me her location means that she thought she had a chance of survival."

"But where is she, then?"

"I can't answer that, sadly. She would have contacted me again if she was fine, so she is either wounded or unconscious."

Marcia stared at the maid for a couple of seconds, thinking carefully about the situation.

"…Very well, I will organize a search party to look around the area; if she is indeed wounded, then she couldn't have gone very far."

"Thank you, Commander." The maid made a small reverence.

Marcia just nodded and exited the tent. However, as she left the tent, a small smile was drawn or her face. At that moment, she thought that she had finally managed to understand Belfast just a little bit.

However, her smile quickly disappeared as she remembered that not only the Siren had escaped; she also had lost one of the prototypes she was in charge of. The higher-ups sure weren't going to be happy with that.

Marcia suppressed a groan.

At that time, she thought about how desperately she needed a drink.

* * *

The moment the Commander left the tent, Belfast's façade crumbed for a bit, as she released a deep sigh.

She didn't like having to lie to her like that. It went against her values as that wasn't how a maid, especially the head maid, should behave towards her master.

Or towards a friend…

"No, I shouldn't doubt." She didn't allow herself to keep thinking about that. She had already decided where her loyalty lies long before.

There was a reason why she can't bring herself to call Marcia her "Master." Serving the Queen came first, and that was never going to change.

Having cleaned her mind of doubts, she established the mental link.

"Warspite, I know you are being watched so I'll be quick. The status of the Siren is unknown; however, Sheffield is with the human right now. She is waiting for Her Majesty instructions."

* * *

The voice of Belfast stopped being heard in her head, as Warspite looked fiercely at the camera in the corner of the room.

Oh, how much she hated it.

Being under constant vigilance and locked in such a small room like common prisoners …that wasn't how someone treats their allies. She felt so insulted by the treatment that the humans were giving them that she could almost take her sword and slash that camera in two.

However, she was better than that; she wouldn't allow her personal feelings to get in the way the future of the Royal Navy. The decision of what to do with their "allies" corresponded only to her.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth.

The leader of the Royal Navy was sitting next to her, drinking her tea with a peaceful expression. It appeared that the Queen managed to calm herself after the "incident" or maybe she had resolved to act calm in front of the humans until the situation with Sheffield was resolved.

Either way, they need to be cautious for now.

"Edinburg, can you serve more tea to her Majesty?" The knight talked to the third shipgirl in the room, a maid with glasses and silver hair similar to Belfast's.

"Eh? But her Majesty's cup is quite full already."

"Edinburgh…" Warpite repeated, this time making a gesture with her hand.

"Ah!" The maid finally understood. "Y-yeah, sure, I am going to serve her majesty more tea…"

Having said that, she put herself precisely between the camera and the two shipgirls, obstructing its view.

"Your Majesty." Warspite approached the Queen's ear and began whispering. "Belfast contacted me, Sheffield managed to fool the human into bringing her to his home, at this point he is an easy target, however, we don't know if he is really an enemy or if he had more weapons at his disposal like the one he used against the Siren. What should she do?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes and remained silent for a couple of minutes.

"Isn't it obvious?" She finally answered, looking at Warspite directly in the eyes.

"Your Majesty?" Warspite was confused.

"Bring him here!" The Queen suddenly stood up, hitting her scepter on the floor and making Edinburgh go "eeepp" and spilling all the tea in the table.

"Y-your Majesty!?" Warspite was equally in shock.

"What kind of Queen would I be if I didn't reward my subject after doing such an incredible deed?"

"Your Majesty..." Warspite try whispering again. "The cameras…"

"Huh? I don't care about those dimwits. They can't even prepare a decent accommodation to her Queen. In fact…" She walked towards the corner and spoke directly to the camera. "You dimwits! Stop slacking off and go look for the one who is actually serving me! The man that defeated the Siren!"

"Her majesty we don't know if he…"

"He already accomplished more than anyone in this base." She interrupted Warspite with her commanding voice." Once he is under our command, the Siren won't stand a chance!"

"But…" Any retort that Warspite had was lost as Elizabeth once again turned to the camera.

"You hear it! Bring the man of the shield to me, it's an order!"

**END OF CHAPTER 6**

* * *

**AN: **And this is the end of the first arc. I wanted it to be like a prologue to set up the characters but it kind of became Purifier arc. I still have a lot of character to introduce.

Sadly, my (online) classes have finally started, that along with the fact that I have to think about the next arc means that updates may not be anytime soon.

So yeah, that's it for now, see you all later.


	7. Chapter 7: Hollow Trust

**Chapter 7: Hollow Trust**

In the beginning, there was no light, only an infinite amount of darkness.

"She" as a being didn't exist yet.

"She" didn't have a body or a mind yet, "she" was only a cluster of variables, of positives and negatives. Not a being, but an arrangement of alternating electric currents.

But suddenly and without warning, her form began to take shape, and she started learning things, words, concepts.

Ships, humans, humanity, wisdom cubes, weapons, royal navy, artillery, maids, sirens. The information was so vast that her inexperienced mind was quickly overwhelmed.

Her confusion only got worst as the first vestiges of colors started to be capture by her eyes, eyes that had never see the light of the day before were blinded by the potent white light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.

Before her eyes could get accustomed to that new stimulus, another strange new feeling shocked her brain. She began to feel something pressing every part of her body, touching her extremities one by one. It wasn't a gentle touch; instead, it was quite rushed and violent.

She didn't like that.

Her eyes gradually began to properly work, and the pool of random colors started to take on forms. The most predominant of them were white; there were large white forms around her, touching every inch of her being.

She really didn't like it, no one bit. She wanted them to stop, but she didn't even know how to communicate with them, nor did she have the strength to stop them.

So she resigned herself to her fate. She wasn't even a complete being, to begin with, she didn't have wishes, ambitions, or objectives. So why even care?

However, another one of her senses was put to work before she could abandon her sense of being.

She heard something, for the first time in her life, a sound reached her ears.

"Re…"

It wasn't a proper word, and it was barely audible. However, she couldn't ignore it.

"Re…re…"

It sounded familiar, but how can it be familiar? She hadn't existed for more than a couple of seconds, so why did she know that voice?

"Releas…"

She couldn't contain herself. She ignored the figures in white that still covered most of her field of view, and began to search for the source of the voice.

"Release."

And she found it.

It was a naked girl, her stature was short and her long hair was blond. She also was being surrounded by the same white figures.

It was the same as her. They were the same.

"Release me."

No, that was incorrect.

"Release me, now!"

They weren't the same; she was destined to stand on top, someone who had to bear the responsibility of commanding a country and its people. Someone who will make decisions that would change the entire world.

"Release me now! It's an order!"

Someone who shouldn't be touched by such filthy hands.

With a violent move, she pushed aside the white figures that surround her.

And at that precise moment, she felt something hard and metallic appearing on her right hand. It was also the first time she had felt something like that, but she didn't need to see it to know what it was or how it was used.

It was a gun, and it was used to exterminate those white things.

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes, only to close them again after being blinded by the bright light of the day.

I wanted to turn around and go back to sleep peacefully.

"Ahh…"

However, the pain on my back indicated very clearly that I was not in my comfortable bed.

I forced my eyes to fight the brightness of the day and looked around. I found the familiar sight of my apartment, but I wasn't in my bedroom like I should, no, I was sitting in a chair, in the living room.

"…Why?"

Why did I sleep here? Did I feel asleep without reali-

My train of thought suddenly stopped as I noticed I was not alone. A person, more precisely a woman in a maid uniform, was just in front of me, watching me with a tired stare.

"Have you finally woken up? It's noon already, pest."

I instantly threw myself back, throwing the chair to the floor and almost falling along with it.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house!?"

"You brought me here."

"I brought you-!?" Memories of the night before started to flow in my brain, as my past actions suddenly made me crash into reality. "Arghhh…of course, I brought you here." I facepalmed hard.

"Do you always forget about what you did yesterday or only when it's convenient for you?"

"Leave me alone, I am not good if I don't sleep at least six hours uninterrupted." I started to rub my eyes to get rid of the crusting on my eyes."Wait, why are you speaking as if we were old friends, didn't you have a mission to interrogate me or something?"

"…"

The maid didn't say anything, but she clearly looked angry.

"…I will take your silence as confirmation that you still hate my guts." I said that and went to the bathroom.

It might be because I was still half asleep, but the situation didn't make any sense.

I thought that when she woke up, we would start fighting again, and I would have to convince her to hear me out. Instead, she seemed calm, or rather, she was forcing herself to remain calm.

What the hell happened in those four or five hours I was asleep?

I turned the faucet and started washing my face in the hope that if I finally woke up completely, the situation would begin to make more sense.

However, as I opened my eyes, I found her face reflected in the bathroom mirror.

"You will have to come with me."

"Jesus!" I got spooked again. "You are doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

Then, the impossible happened.

"You are far too wimpy for someone who faced a Siren alone." She said as a small smile appeared on her face.

"…so you can smile after all."

Another expression this time: shock. She even brought her hand to her face, as if inspecting if there was something wrong with herself.

"You must be imagining things." She obviously denied it, her smile disappeared, and the usual deadpan face returned.

"Sure." I left the bathroom, feeling a weird sense of victory, and went towards the kitchen.

"Don't run." I was followed by the tireless maid.

"I am not running, I am waiting for you to explain anything to me." I opened the fridge, only to realize it was almost empty. Tea it is, then. "But I am also at my house. So don't blame me if I try to follow my usual routine, to at least try to have some kind of normalcy."

I reached for a teabag on the top shelf above my head and then started filling a teapot with water.

"You aren't capable of being normal, not after what you have done."

"…"

My hands stopped, and the water began to overflow the teapot.

I know that she didn't mean it; she couldn't possibly know what happened in Chaldea. However, that doesn't mean her words didn't hit a bit too close to home.

"…what do you want from me?" I looked back at her; this time, my voice had a serious tone.

"It pains me to say it, but it seems you are not totally useless. That's why; her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has requested your presence." She said such a thing without batting an eye.

"…come again?"

"You heard me, don't make me repeat myself."

"But…Queen Elizabeth… as the Queen of this country?

"Yes."

"…"

I was utterly dumbfounded. I didn't know what I expected, but it was certainly not this.

"So even the government is involved…" I couldn't escape from the shock. "I should have known, those Sirens aren't just your everyday threat…"

"Have you finally understood the magnitude of this conflict?"

"More or less." Having barely digested that new information, I went back to making my tea. "So I take you are part of a secret organization that fights against those Sirens?"

"…you seem to understand things too quickly for someone who says he doesn't know anything." She commented, doubtful.

"Well, it's not my first time." I whispered as I put the water to boil.

"What?

"Nothing." I should be careful around her; there some things that don't need to be said. "So you are so kind of superhuman soldier or something?"

"Human?" She repeated, but with some kind of repulsion. "I am nothing like that."

"Well, you sure look like one." I turned around to face her again as I waited for the water to boil. "Then what are you, if you allow me to ask?"

"We are weapons."

"Weapons?"

"Human-made weapons, created with the purpose of protecting humanity from the threat of the Sirens."

So they are human-like beings that surpass humanity in strength and speed, but that for some reason follow human orders too.

That doesn't sound familiar at all.

"As for the reason we have a humanoid appearance." She continued. "You will have to ask our creators." That last sentence was spoken with disgust. It was clear that this "weapon" didn't like much the ones she had to protect.

"Your creators, huh? They must be either too old-fashioned." I turned off the fire and took the hot teapot with a folded napkin."Or perverts to make you dress like that."

Her immediate response was to put a pistol in my forehead.

"This is the uniform of the Royal Maids." Her words were far more forceful this time, even while maintaining a somewhat neutral expression, she managed to sound angry. "A representation of the oath we took when we joined the Royal Navy, our loyalty, and our conviction to serve the Queen to the very end."

I stared at her for a couple of seconds, a bit surprised by her reaction. Her fierce gaze told me that I had touched a delicate subject.

"…sorry, it was a joke."I apologize, not breaking eye contact. "I didn't mean to ridicule something you hold dear."

It seems like that apology caught her off guard because once again, she wore an expression of disbelief.

"Something I hold dear…" She lowered the weapon as she said those words.

"I, too, have things that I consider precious." I continued talking; in the hope of lighten up the mood. "So, I understand how you feel."

" That's wrong."

"Hmm?"

"A weapon… does not need to hold something dear." Her words had a tone of confusion, as she herself didn't believe what she was saying.

"Ah…I see." Those words didn't match her previous reaction, she was clearly contradicting herself.

I chuckled.

"What's so funny?" She wasn't amused.

"Nothing." I continued talking, while I took a couple of cups and started pouring tea in them. "You don't need to be ashamed of having something important for you. If you do have emotions, then it's probably unavoidable that you would find things you like more than others, even as a weapon."

"I am not…"

I put a cup in front of her.

"…"

And our conversation suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong? You don't like tea? Or is it that your kind can't drink things?" She was looking at the cup as if it was the weirdest thing ever.

"Why are you giving me this?"

"For you to drink it?"

"I am asking why you want me to drink it. Is it poisoned? Did you tamper with the tea in some way?"

"…No?" Now it was my turn to be confused. "I just prepared it for me, so I thought you may like some?"

"Why?"

"…to be a good host? I don't know. Don't make it difficult for me, if you don't like want it, then just leave it there." A brought my own cup to my lips.

She stared at me unconvinced, then at her cup, then back at me. After repeating this process for a couple of seconds, she finally took the cup on her hands and drank.

"Arg." Her reaction wasn't a pleasant one.

"Well, I guess you don't like tea after all."

"Tea? Do you call this tea?"

"Last time I checked it was tea."

"It tastes horrible." She drank some more. "Truly, you can't even do this right, pest."

"And you can? Is making tea one of your abilities as a weapon?"

She suddenly stood up, looking fired up.

"You'll see."

Then she entered the small space of the kitchen and started looking around the shelves, probably searching for utensils that I don't have.

I chucked. It was actually good to know that she wasn't some kind of emotionless robot. Even if she said she is a weapon, it's challenging to look at her like that.

Or maybe it just me, I could never see my Servants like that either. They had their goals, they liked things and disliked others, they got along with others just fine or hated them to death. How could I see them as just a cumulus of mana if they felt so real?

Maybe she is the same.

"Do you have a name, weapon?" I asked.

"Sheffield." She said, not stopping to look at me and continuing her labor.

"Ritsuka." I drank more of my "horrible" tea. "It's nice to meet you, Sheffield."

* * *

"That's all I have to report, sir." Marcia finished her report and waited patiently for her superior to respond.

The burly man in front of her was sitting behind a desk a bit too small for him, tiredly looking at some papers, which seemed to bear no difference with the stacks piling up on his desk.

He wore a black military uniform similar to the one Marcia had, only differentiated by the presence of a few badges and a different insignia on its shoulder. The black cap that completed the uniform was absent, showing a shaved head.

"Haydes." He started, his fierce stare was only worsened by bags under his eyes. "Are you telling me that you lost one of the Prototypes?"

"Yes, sir. I let her go knowing that something like this could happen, I have no excuse." Marcia braced herself for the inevitable reprimand.

"…"

The man took a deep breath, as a clear expression of exhaustion appeared on his face.

"What are you waiting for then? Go look for it now." The man said, in tone unexpectedly calm for the current state of affairs.

"S-sir?" The Commander was clearly confused. She had expected a 30 minutes long rant about how useless she was and how vital the prototypes were to simply lose one like that.

"Go. Look. For. It. Do you need me to spell it for you, Commander?"

"No, Sir!" Marcia responded. "However, as I stated in my report, a search party had already been deployed and working since last night."

"That's not nearly enough." He threw the report on his desk." Send the entire regiment posted in the laboratories."

"But sir, if we do that, we would be vulnerable if…"

"If the other prototypes tried to escape? For the love of God, Haydes!" He stood up and hit the desk with both hands, the stacks of papers trembled. "You know as well as me that if they really wanted to escape, then mere soldiers with guns wouldn't be enough to stop them. If they are still in the laboratories, it is because they have a reason to remain there."

He walked toward her and began to speak more quietly.

"Or have you forgotten why you were put in charge? There is nothing in your report about prototype 01 after all these months. Are you actually working on getting the information we asked for, Haydes?"

"I…haven't forgotten about my mission, however the Sirens…."

"The Sirens are under control, which is hardly true for our own weapons." He frowned. "Or should I remind you about the 02 incident?"

"No, sir. I remember it well."

"Then move your ass at once and mobilize the people in the laboratories! I don't care if they are soldiers, scientists, or the fucking janitor; send them to search for the missing prototype, now!"

"Yes, Sir!" She said, and quickly left the Admiral's office.

Once she had left, and the Admiral was left alone in his office, he took a cigar box from his breast pocket and withdrew a cigarette, smoke prohibition be dammed.

After lighting it and getting his dose of nicotine, he quietly stared at the mountain of papers in his desk.

"….!"

Suddenly, he hit the desk with all the force he could muster, the stacks of papers suddenly flew around him, and fell inevitable on the floor.

"Bitch." He said to himself, a vein almost popping out of his forehead. "You aren't the one whose head will roll if that thing doesn't appear soon."

* * *

Marcia left the military base and was about to return to the laboratories when she spotted a figure on the other side of the street. She couldn't miss her, not when her maid uniform was so noticeable.

She quickly approached her.

"What are you doing here, Belfast?" She asked, a bit on edge.

"Good day, Commander." The maid nodded. "How did it go?"

"I asked you a question, what are you doing outside the laboratories?"

"Don't worry, I have permission." She showed her a small electronic device pinned to her clothes. "They are hearing us right now to confirm that I don't venture too far."

It was true, due to her successful repelling of various Siren's incursions on the sea. Belfast had gained some degree of freedom to move outside the base as long as she doesn't go far, and they can pinpoint her location at any moment.

"They should have informed me first, though. What were they thinking….?"

"I am guessing most of the personnel is in turmoil because of Sheffield's disappearance."

"Did they find anything?"

"No, and that's precisely why they allow me to come to meet you. I would like to join the search forces, Commander."

"…"

Marcia had already thought about asking for her help. As long as they did it at night, she can cover more territory than dozens of them in little time.

"Before I give you permission, I have to ask you something."

However, something had been bothering her since she wrote her report a few hours ago.

"If it is within my knowledge, I'll be glad to answer."

"Alright, then." She looked directly at her. "Who is "the man of the shield"?"

At that moment, Belfast's regular neutral expression crumbled.

"I-I am not sure what you are referring to, Commander?"

That was a lie.

Belfast doesn't usually lie to her, so it was easy to know when she actually did it.

Her subordinates informed her that prototype 02, Elizabeth, had rambled about this "man of shield" the other night. She had purposely hidden this to the Admiral. In part because she didn't want to stress him more than he already was, and in part, because she didn't have enough information to assess the nature of this person.

But now she had a confirmation, Belfast knew about this mysterious man.

"Your Queen was screaming about some man of the shield last night. I take that you know what she is referring to?"

"N-no, sorry. I have no idea what she means." Belfast seemed extremely agitated.

"…If you don't want to tell me, then it can't force you." She said drily and started to walk towards her car.

"Commander!" Belfast stopped her. "I really don't know anything about that." She repeated, but this time, she pointed again at the electronic device on her clothes. "That's the truth."

After a few seconds of confusion, Marcia understood what she meant.

"…I see, just wanting to be sure." She dropped the issue; she will have to find some other time to ask her, one when no one is listening. "Let's return to the base, for now, I'll drop a few things there, and we can resume the search for Sheffield."

She still didn't know if she can fully trust the maid, but she really hoped that whatever she had to say would help her decide.

"Understood, Commander." Belfast said and followed behind her.

However, just as she was about to get into Marcia's car, she took one last look at the large military base behind her.

And her eyes narrowed.

* * *

"And?" She looked at me, fiercely.

"…." I lowered the cup of tea and looked at it for a couple of seconds.

How?

This was just normal, supermarket tea, and not even the good quality one; I brought it because it was on discount. How did she manage to make it taste this good? I didn't see her do anything different or unique with it.

"Well, it's alright, I guess."

"Just alright?" She asked, doubtful.

"I mean, it's tea. It tastes like tea. Nothing more, nothing less. " I tried to hide the fact that my own tea tasted like dirty water compared to this.

"I should have known that you would have no taste for things like this, pest." She commented, resigned, as she tried to take the cup from my hands.

I quickly move it out of her reach.

"Wait; let me try a bit more, maybe I will understand if I keep drinking." I said; as I drank more of that rich tea.

She looked at me as if I were a disappointment to the human race, but ultimately didn't say anything.

So we remained like that for a while, I secretly enjoyed my tea while she watched me with a strange interest.

Naturally, after a couple of minutes, it started to feel a bit awkward; she kept looking at me without moving a single muscle.

Which reminds me…

"Hey, how long were you awake while I slept in the chair?

"I didn't sleep."

"Eh?"

"I regained consciousness just when you were breaking the lock to enter the building."

"But then….why didn't you say anything?"

"Would you have done that in my position?"

"…fair enough." I drank more tea.

"I used that time to search around the apartment."

I almost spit my drink.

"You did what!?"

"Unfortunately, apart from the lack of proper cleaning, I didn't find anything incriminating."

I release a deep breath.

"Of course, I am just a teacher, you know? You won't found anything weird here besides my students' homework."

I don't even have a proper workshop like most magi do, really the only thing out of place here is…

"That shield, however." She continued as if reading my mind. "It's something I have never seen before. Sturdy enough to defend against a Siren attack, but also light, to the point a hu-" She stopped for a second, as if she had made a mistake. "To the point, you could wield it with one hand."

I didn't miss that remark.

"If you are accusing me of something, then at least say it clearly so I can defend myself."

"Very well. The truth is that you aren't human, are you?"

"Pffff..." I couldn't contain myself, and from my mouth came an explosive laugh.

Sheffield, on the other hand, wasn't amused at all.

"Hahaha, sorry." I tried to stop my laugh. "It's just that you say so seriously…hahahaha."

"It's no use denying it." She gave me a dead stare. "I saw you fight with the Siren, a normal human can't reach the speed or strength you showed there."

"Hahaha, it's alright. I guess it's a natural conclusion to reach." I finally manage to stop my laugh. "But don't worry, I was born human, and I am still human."

Probably will die human too.

"That doesn't explain how you were able to fight a Siren."

"Well." I allowed myself a small smile. "You aren't the only one who has secrets." I once again brought my cup to my lips, only to find that it was empty. "Hmm? Do you have more tea?"

She was about to retort when suddenly an expression of surprise appeared on her face.

"Yes, I am here." She said, but not to me, as she stood up and walked towards the window. "How long do we have?" It seemed that she was speaking to someone in her head.

I was about to ask what she was talking about when I heard someone knocking the door with force, which was followed by a scream.

"It's the police! Ritsuka Fujimaru, are you there!?"

I looked at Sheffield.

Sheffield looked at me.

"Who…?"

"Shhhhhh." I quickly silenced her, as I approached to whisper. "It's the police! To think that they would actually come…"

"What are you waiting for then? Make them go away."

"But what if they want to come in for whatever reason? Could it be that they found something about me…?" I started looking around my apartment. "They can't see you here, hide!"

"We don't have time for that." Sheffield didn't seem to mind the policeman shouting outside the house. "I was instructed to bring you to the Queen now."

"What!? I am not running away from the police! Much less to go who knows where to meet a Queen!"

"To a subterranean military lab."

"What? This is not time to joke around!"

"I don't joke around." She was indeed, completely serious.

"….good, now I have a reason not to go."

I am not getting anywhere close to a closed space where I could potentially be locked in.

"I don't care if you want to or not, the Queen gave me an order, and I am going to fulfill it."

"Oh no, you aren't going to mess my life more than you already have." I turned around and try to reach the door. "I am going to open that door, so hide or get out of here!"

She appeared in front of me, blocking my path.

"No, you won't."

"Yes, I am!" I tried to forcefully get her out of my way.

Unfortunately for me, due to these hours that I have more or less peacefully talked with her or maybe because I was in a hurry to open the door. I had forgotten that she was, in fact, stronger than me.

She took my hand, and with a single move, I was already on the floor.

"You aren't going anywhere but with me." She made sure to lock my right arm behind me and put all her weight in my back, leaving me no room to escape.

"Maid…!"

You leave me no choice then. I quickly intoned my aria of reinforcement.

"What are you mumbling-?"

She didn't get to finish talking, as the arm that she was holding so tightly began to glow green. With my newfound strength, I manage to break her hold and get her away from me.

"Those lines…" She made her guns appear on her hands. Was a fight between us inevitable?

"Ritsuka Fujimaru! I am coming in!" The policeman shouted as I stood up. "One."

He started counting.

"Two."

We looked at each other again.

"Three!"

"Good day, officer!" I manage to open just before the policeman could knock the door down. "What seems to be the probl-"

"Mr. Fujimaru!" I was interrupted by the voice of a woman. "Thank god! I thought something horrible had happened to you!" She made an attempt to enter the house to hug me, but I hold the door half-open with force, stopping her.

This woman, Mrs. Nasby, was one of my neighbors. She was one of those stereotypical middle age women that seem to have too much time on their hand, and the only way they could normally escape from the boredom of the routine was talking about other people, usually behind their backs.

I couldn't say that I got along very well with her, and while I appreciated her concern about my safety, my arm was still covered in glowing green lines behind the door, so entering the house was a big no.

"I am fine, thank you." I looked back at the policeman. "What happened, officer?"

"Are you Fujimaru Ritsuka?"

"I am."

"Why didn't you come when I called you?"

"Ah…well, I am a heavy sleeper you see, and on the weekend I tend to wake up a bit later than usual, you caught me still half asleep." I came up with the quickest excuse I could find.

"I see." The man didn't look convinced for some reason. "Anyway, sir, are you aware that your door is broken?"

"My door is broken…? Woah! I didn't notice! When did this happen?"

Man, I suck at lying.

"The front door was also forced open, and one of the windows in the corridor was broken too. Did you happen to hear something last night? It's possible that burglars entered your apartment."

"Eh…no, sorry. As I said, I am a heavy sleeper. I could probably remain sleep even if someone did enter."

"I keep telling him, Mr. Fujimaru." Mrs. Nasby interceded. "I have talked with everyone on this floor and no one heard a thing last night! Everyone, myself included, slept like babies."

"Nobody heard anything…?"

I am pretty sure the drones weren't doing that much noise, but me breaking the window definitely must have awakened someone. Was I just lucky?

"You sure nothing is wrong, sir?" The policeman still looked doubtful. Was he thinking that I was hiding the criminals in my house or something…? Although, I was the one who broke those things, so maybe that's technically correct.

"Yeah, don't worry, everything is alright."

"Ok. I will still recommend that you check your belongings sir, in case something of value was stolen. I'll be visiting the rest of the neighbors if you want to file a report later."

With a nod, and a "have a good day" the policeman left, leaving Mrs. Nasby and me alone.

"Well, I'll better do what the officer told me. Good d…"

"Ah, wait a minute, Mr. Fujimaru." I tried to close the door quickly but the woman stopped me. "There is still…something that I wanted to talk about."

"Uh, sure." I tried to hide my annoyance. "What about?"

"Well…it's a bit…."

"…?"

Now, this was strange.

Normally, Mrs. Nasby is a real chatterbox; there were times when it seemed like she didn't actually have the ability to shut her mouth for more than a minute. This was the first time I had seen her so subdued since moving here.

"I…didn't want to talk about this in front of the policeman but… I mean, they would believe I am crazy, right? But that can't be! Not when it also happened to the rest of the neighbors…!"

"Eh…Mrs. Nasby?" I tried to calm her. "I am afraid I don't follow you."

"You see…I had a dream."

"A dream?"

"Yes….you…you saw it too, don't you? The blue eye?"

"Excuse me?"

The expression in Mrs. Nasby turned into a strange mix of emotion; there was disappointment, surprise but also…fear?

"Ah…uh…okay…nevermind." She said, nervously. "It must have sounded really weird to you, right? Hahahaha."

"Hmm, no…not at all. But are you okay? You look a bit pale.

"Oh no no, I am totally fine!" She didn't seem fine at all. "And…I remembered that I had something to do so I'll be going now. Good day Mr. Fujimaru."

Before I could say anything else, Mrs. Nasby quickly walked away… no, she basically ran away.

"Well, that's a thing that happened." I said to myself, a bit confused as I closed the door.

Mrs. Nasby looked genuinely scared, to the point that I was starting to feel bad for her. I wondered what exactly could have happened to put her in that state.

"A dream…about a blue eye? Where have I heard something similar?"

I was pondering about the meaning of that when I noticed that I couldn't see the maid anywhere.

"Sheffield! You can come out, they already left." I shouted while looking for the maid. But I got no response. "Sheffield?"

My eyes suddenly found a piece of paper lying on the table where we were before. There was a single word written on it, in big black letters.

"TONIGHT"

And obviously, Sheffield was nowhere to be found.

* * *

I decided not to wait for Sheffield's ambiguous night period and spent my day trying to actually fix some of my problems.

So after calling to get my door fixed sometime in the week, I decided to partake in the infamous act known as going to the grocery store. My fridge was empty this morning after all, and I didn't plan on having only tea for my next meals.

And here I was, after fighting for my life against a supernatural being that seems to defile reason and wresting with a trigger-happy maid a couple of hours ago, asking myself if I wanted to make something with potatoes tonight.

It was so ridiculous that I had to laugh.

Even though my normal life was slowly crumbling around me, I still found myself trying to do mundane things.

"…"

I wondered, would I be able to enjoy these tranquil moments the same way after this? My life had been relatively peaceful for a long time, but things are changing, again.

It's happening again, just like it happened before. That day, when I took what I thought would be a simple job in an organization called Chaldea.

I still remember most of it. I was just out of school and I needed money but didn't want to ask my parents.

So when I saw that flyer, I didn't think it for a second. They just needed to take some of my blood, and I would get pay even if they didn't find what they were looking for.

A simple, easy way to earn money.

And once I had been done with that, I would have visited the sea with my friends, just like we had kept saying since 8th grade. A fun trip, which I would remember for years to come.

However, they found it, they found that I could be a Master.

And everything changed.

"Life just doesn't go according to your plans, does it?" I said to the potato in my hand, as if it could answer me.

"It sure doesn't."

To my surprise, someone answered me.

A bit stunned, I turned back to see the owner of the voice.

It was a woman, but not one I remembered ever meeting. After all, there was no way I could forget someone like her.

Almost as tall as me, strong silver eyes, straight long hair of the same color, and quite pretty to be honest, to the point that I forgot how to talk upon seeing her.

Not to mention that her attributes were…generous, to say the least. The clothes she was wearing, a baggy sweater that did nothing to hide her cleavage and a skirt accompanied by black stocking didn't help at all to make me regain my speaking faculties.

Some time passed and for some reason, she didn't say anything either, so we kept looking at each other for a solid minute.

That until I remembered that I still had a potato in my hand like an idiot and my brain started working again.

"Ah, sorry." I apologize for no reason. "I was talking to myself."

"It's true, though." She finally spoke again; her voice had a tone of melancholy. "Life isn't always how we want it to be."

The sudden philosophic topic stunned me a bit, but I did understand what she meant.

"Change is difficult, isn't it? More when you are forced to."

"Indeed." A sad expression appeared on her face. "One day we think we have our path already decided, we spent our days working towards that path, just for everything we believe on, to change in a single day."

"…."

Even though I didn't know her, I could guess she had it hard too.

I kind of wanted to cheer her up a bit.

"Well. I don't know anything about your problems, but at least you weren't found out talking with a potato in the market, so you already better than me, right?"

Was that the best joke I could think of? Really? I am an Idiot.

Despite my horrendous sense of humor, I could see her smiling a bit so I will consider that a win.

"So do you usually come here to speak with the potatoes?" She continued the joke, a bit cheered up.

"Maybe, do you usually come here to talk about life with strangers?

"Maybe. This time, however, I was looking for the tea section. Do you happen to know where it is, potato-talker?"

"Ah...yes, I think you just need to turn the corner and walk for a bit, you should be able to find it easily."

"I see, thank you." She made a small reverence, for some reason. "I hope you get a hold of your life, potato-talker."

And after a final look, she continued her way.

"Potato-talker, huh? Could that be the worst nickname I got in my entire life? Probably." I said as I fill my basket with potatoes. It's been a while since I ate mashed potatoes, so let's go with that.

Also, they had to pay for making me look ridiculous.

* * *

Having brought what I wanted, I decided to head back to my apartment. The sky was still orange-tinted, so I should have time to make dinner before Sheffield's antics.

That if whatever Sheffield has planned for tonight allows me to actually eat something.

I was trying my best not to be worried about that, but I was still curious. Was she going to drag me to that military base she talked about? I really don't want to go such a place. The thought of getting locked frankly scared me a bit.

Despite all this, I was free now; and I wanted it to continue being like that.

"Hmm, where could it be…?"

A now familiar figure pulled me out of those thoughts; it was the same woman from before. She was looking at the floor, as if looking for something.

"…."

Maybe I should continue my way. I would normally ask what happened but we didn't actually know each other and I didn't want to look like a stalker...

…

…

…

Oh, fuck me.

"Is something wrong?" I approached her after all.

"No, I am…ah, you are the potato person!"

"Potato person? Is talking with potatoes suddenly my only defining trait?"

"Haha, sorry. I forgot to ask your name."

"Well, I forgot too, no hard feelings. I am Ritsuka."

"Bel." She extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Ritsuka."

I shook her hand; her grip was actually stronger than I thought.

"Presentations aside, are you looking for something?"

"Ah, yes, I am dumb. I lost one of my earrings." She touched her ear where the earring should have been.

"And it fell around here?" I said as I started looking around.

"I think so...ah, but it's okay, you don't have to bother looking for it."

"Its fine, it shouldn't take too much time."

Or so I hoped, I still have to meet Sheffield after all.

"Really? It's starting to get dark; you wouldn't want to be home late." She said, as if reading my mind.

"Don't worry; my apartment is just a few blocks from here." I kept looking around. "Also, shouldn't have I been the one to say that? Did I lose gentlemen points perhaps?"

"Yes, minus three points for not mentioning that, however, I can add five for helping me."

"And where does that leave me?"

"Minus thirty-six."

"That low!?"

She chuckled.

I was glad; she really seemed to have cheered up.

"Could I get ten more points if I find the earring?"

"You could get more than that."

"…"

Wait… Is this happening? Are we actually flirting?

Nah, it couldn't be, she is just being friendly. Or maybe that conversation we had early made her more open with me despite being a stranger.

As I thought that, I heard a "clink" behind my back and immediately turned around.

"There it is." I kneeled to pick the heart-shaped earring. "How weird, I thought I looked around here before. Did I miss it?"

"You found it!" Bel looked happy, and in what I thought was a disproportionate gesture of gratitude, she hugged me "Thank you, Ritsuka."

Her hug was also quite firm, despite her delicate appearance, she was actually quite strong. Also, "something" was pressing against me, "something" that I rather not think about.

"Eh…you are welcome?"

"That'll be twenty points." She finally separated from me, she was smiling.

"So, I am at minus sixteen now?"

"Minus sixty-five."

"Somehow I keep going lower!?"

We laughed like a pair of idiots.

Truth to be told, I was actually enjoying spending time with Bel.

"Well." However, everything must come to an end sooner or later. "I better be going now, as you say it's probably a bit late."

"Too bad, another minus five for not suggesting accompanying me to my house."

"Sadly, I am not that bold."

"You are kind, though."

"Well, I try to be."

"Can I invite you a few drinks to repay your kindness?"

"…"

She is nice. I would like to know more about her.

"Thank you, but someone is waiting for me in my apartment."

However, I can't. I am no position to start a new relationship now.

"Oh well…maybe some other day?"

It doesn't matter if it's romantic or just as friends, adding her to my mess of life will only cause her problems, more than the ones she already has.

"It's my girlfriend." I lied. "She is the one waiting for me."

"Ah…I see."

"Yeah, sorry for making things awkward."

"No, no, it's okay." She seemed a bit disappointed. "I understand."

I won't lie, I was a bit sad; she really seemed like a good person. But precisely because of that, it's that I shouldn't involve her in my problems.

"Well, then." I prepared to leave. "I am going now."

I walked a few steps when I remember something.

"Ah, I also hope you get a hold of your life, Bel."

And with that, I walked away, sincerely wishing her the best.

Until I heard her voice again.

"You too, Fujimaru Ritsuka."

I stopped.

"Wait, did I tell you my surname?"

As I turned back, I found no one.

Bel had disappeared.

* * *

"I am back." I said as I opened my still broken door."Sheffield, you back? Can I eat before you start bothering me again?"

"Welcome back." Someone who wasn't Sheffield greeted me. Just like her, she was wearing a maid uniform, the design was slightly different, but it was impossible not to see the resemblance.

"…."

Our eyes met once again, but they no longer carried the same feeling as before. In her eyes, that I had found sadness and happiness alike, now I found nothing like that, only a serious, detached gaze.

"So that's how it is." I said, drily.

"Indeed." She answered; her voice was also devoid of emotion.

I walked toward the kitchen and left the supermarket bags there.

"It wasn't a coincidence that we meet, right?"

"No, I had been tracking you for about an hour."

"And you didn't lose the earring at all."

"I had it in my pocket the entire time."

"I see." I waited a bit before continuing. "I will tell you what I told Sheffield, I am not going anywhere close to a military base."

"I know, she told me. That's why I decided to come."

"That's why you decided to put that little act?"

"I had to know what kind of person you were."

"You should be content to know that I am a naïve idiot." My voice has a little edge. "Where is Sheffield anyway?"

"I asked her to wait a bit before coming back, so I can explain the situation."

"There is nothing to explain. Call her so we can be done with this, weapon."

"Weapon?" That word seemed to catch her by surprise a bit.

"You are a weapon, just like Sheffield, right?"

"That's correct. My name is Belfast, I am the Head Maid of the Royal Navy." She lifted her skirt a bit. "At your service."

"Bel…Belfast. So you didn't totally lie, huh?"

"…"

She looked a bit dejected, but I didn't care this time.

"I…deeply apologize for that. I hope this little stumble doesn't affect your opinion on the Royal Navy. Her Majesty would really appreciate your help with future threats."

"My help?"

"We have failed to procure a dependable human asset for months. Her Majesty thinks that you would be a perfect candidate for that role. In other words…"

"Belfast." Sheffield appeared, entering through the window like it was the most natural thing to do. "Don't take hasty decisions, we still don't know if…"

"Her Majesty had already decided, and after our brief interaction, he has gained my approval too." She said, her voice had a tone of command.

Sheffield frowned but didn't say anything. Was it because Belfast was her superior?

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Fujimaru Ritsuka. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, leader of the Royal Navy, would like to appoint to you as the Commander of the fleet, as well as the Master of the Maid Corps. "

…!

"W-what….? What did you just say?"

Master...a Master?

"You'll be in full control of the Shipgirls of the Royal Navy during the battle with the Sirens, as well as in any other necessity you may require. The only thing we ask in return is your loyalty to the only true Queen of this country."

**END OF CHAPTER 7**

* * *

**AN:** Online classes are hell

Hopefully, this longer chapter will make up for my absence this month.

I am tired, I am going to sleep now.


	8. Chapter 8: Conflicting Perspectives

**Chapter 8: Conflicting Perspectives**

The world around us was red, as the insatiable flames scorched the city. No matter how much the buildings and houses burned, they didn't fall out, as if they were condemned to burn for eternity.

"Let's take a rest." I proposed as I sit on the debris.

I was tired; it was difficult to continue walking as it was to breathe. My chest hurt, I feared I had inhaled too much of that ascending smoke, the same that darkened the skies.

"No, we should keep going." Olga Marie Animusphere, the director of Chaldea, said. She didn't seem to be bearing the effects of the fire like I was. "We don't know when we may be attacked again."

"Sorry, I need…" I coughed. "I need a rest."

"Senpai." Mashu put a hand on my back. "Are you alright? I can lend you my shoulder if you need it."

"That would be irresponsible." Olga answered for me."Who will protect us if you are busy helping him walk?"

"But…."

"She is right, Mashu. You are the only one who can fight, we need you to stay alert in case more of those shadows appear."

Another cough left my mouth.

"You." Olga Marie approached me; her eyes were judging me for some reason. "Why do you look so bad? Is your protection spell not working?"

"Protection…spell?"

"Yes, the one you used to…." A confused expression appeared on her face. "Wait, don't tell me you didn't protect your respiratory system with magecraft?"

"Huh…sorry. I am new to this entire magecraft thing, so I don't know how."

Olga gave a disappointed look, as she sighed. Then, without saying another word, she put her hand on my chest.

"Eh…Director?"

"Shhh." She shut me up, as she started to incanted something in a language I didn't recognize. Her hand began to glow in a greenish light, and before I realized, I felt a lot of better. The pain in my throat gradually disappeared, alongside the difficulty to breath.

Amazed, I tried to thank her.

However, my words disappeared in my mouth, as I feel a sudden pain burning my check.

It was so sudden that I didn't have time to react; only when I noticed Olga's raised hand, I realized I was slapped.

"Director, that's…!" Mashu tried to say something.

"You would have died." Olgamarie's voice was fierce. "If you had spent more time like that, you would have surely died.

"I…didn't know…"

"If you had died, the contract between the Servant inside Mashu's body would have ended." She didn't break eye contact. "Unable to defend ourselves, we would have died too."

"…" I lowered my head, ashamed.

"Look at me!" She took me by my uniform and forced me to look at her. "You are a Master now! Our lives are in your hands, so you can't die! That's your responsibility! If it were me, I…!"

She stopped, as if a sudden realization had hit her, and released me.

"But it's not me…" Olgamarie's voice now sounded broken, her eyes were moist. "It's you; you are the Master and not me."

"…."

I wanted to say something to apologize even though I had no control over my capability of being a Master or not, but I couldn't find the words. I didn't know anything about the director; we were basically strangers.

So I did the next best thing I could think of.

I hugged her.

"W-what? What are you doing!? Who gave you permission to-?" She tried to part herself from me, but I hug her with force.

Whatever I could say won't help her, apologizing will just put salt on her wounds, pretending that I understood her problem wouldn't help her either. So I stayed silent in the hope she would understand my intention.

Why was I, the nobody, the random guy who can be found anywhere, the guy who had no idea about magecraft or spells…why was I the Master instead of her?

I didn't know.

What I knew was that if she needed to cry, then I could lend her my shoulder. Otherwise, I was ready to accept another slap.

However, Olga's struggle slowly stopped until she timidly hugged me back.

She didn't say anything, so I didn't know if she actually cried at that time.

Nor I would ever know.

* * *

"A Master….a Master." I keep repeating those words as I collapsed on one of the chairs in the living room, my eyes quickly went to the back of my hand, where my command seals used to be.

The command seals weren't there, they had disappeared a long time ago.

That was the proof; I lost my contract with Chaldea's Servants, and I was no longer a Master. So why? Why are they asking me to be one again? Why does it have to be me again?

Olga…Why does it have to be me?

"Ritsuka Fujimaru?" A voice called for me, and I remembered I wasn't alone.

They were still here, the maids.

As I raised my head, I could notice the confusion on both of their faces. Belfast was looking at me weirdly, probably bewildered by my reaction. Meanwhile, Sheffield stared at me as if any sudden movement could make her take her guns out, I must have been looking like a crazy person.

I just didn't know how to react. To be called a "Master" again felt like a complete joke, an abysmal joke.

I felt everything suddenly coming back to me, the memories that laid dormant in my subconscious resurged all at once. I could hear their voices again, all those times I was called "Master" by my Servants…by Mashu.

And it hurt, it hurt knowing that I will never see them again.

"…"

I furiously rubbed my face as I released a series of deep breaths.

"I need a drink."I quickly stood up and walked towards the kitchen, completely ignoring the two maids.

"Fujima-?"

"Do you drink?" I interrupted Belfast. "I think I have a couple of beer cans. Nothing stronger sadly, things like whiskey are usually a bit too expensive for my taste."

"No, we don't -"

"It's too bad, really." I interrupted her again, as I opened the fridge to see some cans lying around. "I would really like some of that now. Maybe you could have told me this at the grocery store, that way I could have bought some cheap wine at least."

"That's…"

"Just answer the question." Sheffield finally interceded, apparently tired of my evasive attitude. "Will you accept her Majesty's proposal or not?"

I closed the fridge door with force.

"Answers? You want answers, really? You turn my life upside down, and you are the one that demands answers?" I opened a can and took a big sip, hoping that the alcohol would ease the chaos that was my mind. "I won't answer a single thing until you tell me exactly what's going on."

A Master…to be a Master again…

"I am sorry, I guess this is too much to process." Belfast apologized; she had been a lot of more submissive since we met again, I wondered if that was her real personality. "Regrettably, I don't have much time to spare, but I will answer your questions to the best of my ability."

"No." I said, drily.

"Eh?"

"You fooled me once." I pointed at her. "I don't trust you one bit."

"…" Belfast lowered her head, looking a bit dejected. I realized I was being especially mean to her, but I frankly couldn't care at the moment.

"Sheffield." I addressed the other maid. "What exactly does your Queen want me to do?"

"So you are asking me?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I am. Will you answer?"

She gave me a dead stare as if studying my intentions. After a few seconds, however, she answered.

"Her Majesty is under the impression that you can help us combat the Sirens, as well as be our link to the rest of human society, as our current human jailers are less than desirables."

"Jailers?"

"Sorry, that was a slip of the tongue, I mean allies."

I didn't have to be a genius to understand that she didn't like humans at all. Maybe that was the reason for her aversion to me.

"So, she basically wants me to be your leader?"

"Not a leader, a Commander." She corrected me.

"A Commander, you say…." I took another sip of beer. "But isn't your kind already working with the military? I don't think you need a middle-school teacher to give you orders."

I doubt they even need them, Sheffield appeared to be quite capable of fighting without someone giving her order behind her back.

"We indeed have people capable of supporting us for the backline, both administratively and strategically." Belfast joined the conversation. "However, her majesty is especially interested in your ability to fight Sirens, that's something none of our current human companions are capable of."

I didn't answer her; instead, I looked at Sheffield, looking for confirmation.

Her immediate reaction was to sigh.

"She is telling the truth. Also, don't involve me in your quarrel, pest."

"Your Queen would be disappointed then since that wasn't a fight." I finally answered Belfast, while I drink some more. "Sheffield was there, she can attest that Purifier wasn't fighting me; rather, she was playing with me as if I were a toy. The only reason I am still alive is that she wasn't serious."

I have no doubts that she could have bypassed Lord Camelot easily, even if she couldn't destroy it. A single attack to my back would have been enough; she had the speed to do that.

"Purifier…" Sheffield muttered, staring at me with her now-classic look of distrust.

"I was told that you also managed to hurt her." Belfast either didn't notice or didn't care that I had used the Siren's name, and continued. "I don't think that it was just a matter of luck."

"You couldn't know, you weren't there."

"Even if we disregard that, the fact that you came in contact with a Siren and survive is already admirable, your experience could be invaluable in future battles. That's why I can't think of a better person to fill the role of Commander, Fujimaru Ritsuka." She said, with conviction.

"…"

I release a deep sigh once again; they really wanted me to be their "Commander". Or at least Belfast and the Queen wanted.

I was still not satisfied, though. Before I gave them my answer, I wanted to know a certain thing.

"You also mentioned…" The words felt heavy in my throat; it was difficult to pronounce them. "Something about a "Master".

They suddenly went quiet, as if I had just said a bad word. Sheffield sighed and sit on a nearby chair, looking tired for some reason. Belfast didn't move, but she looked a bit unnerved.

"The Master is…different." she said, but didn't elaborate.

"How different?"

"Well…"The previously determined and fierce-looking Belfast now looked a bit different, as if she wasn't entirely comfortable with the topic. "The Royal Navy also aware the "Master" title to the Commander, as long as the Queen and the Head Maid agreed with it." She finally continued, but her uneasiness didn't disappear.

"So they are the same thing?"

"Not necessary, the Commander is the one leading the Royal Navy fleet against the Sirens, it's as I said before, a strategic figure. On the other hand, the Master is the person that we, the maids, serve personally."

"You…serve him?" It was my turn to be confused. "And why would you need such a figure? Don't you serve the Queen already?"

"Our loyalty to her will remain no matter what. But the Master is…"

At that moment, Belfast seemed to regress to that person I meet in the grocery store, a woman who appears to be full of doubts, her seriousness mask been lost.

"…?" I turned to Sheffield for an answer.

Her regular deadpanned face didn't change one bit as she said the following sentence.

"The Master is basically a sexual partner."

"Wha-?" I shouted, and the can in my hand inadvertently fell on the ground, staining the floor with beer. "Ah, shit. Do you think it's time for jokes now!?"

"I told you already. I never joke about matters such as this."

Startled, I turned to Belfast, waiting for a proper explanation.

She conveniently avoided my gaze.

And silence invaded the room.

"…"

"…"

"…"

None of us spoke for about two minutes, two long minutes.

Blinking, I took the fallen beer can, and I inspected it, looking at the small letter for the amount of alcohol in it.

"I know I am not much of a drinker, but I never thought I would get drunk with just one can." I said to myself, trying to find a logical explanation for the bizarre situation.

"She is…technically correct." Belfast said, still refusing to look at me.

"…."

Did I just let a bunch of perverts in my house?

"But it's not only that." She quickly corrected it. "The Maid Corps will assist the Master in everything they may need, like cleaning, cooking, acting as secretary, helping with work. We would devote ourselves to serve them as we serve her Majesty, with all our body and souls."

"And that includes intercourse?"

"…if the Master desires it, then it should be done."

My head suddenly started hurting a lot.

Okay, Ritsuka, focus. These superhuman beings are just asking you to be their boss, nothing strange there, you have done that before already, right? Also, the sex is nothing surprising really, you were instructed that in case of emergency, mana transfer via sex was the most efficient method of supplying a Servant mana versus giving other fluids like blood or saliva, the fact that these maids are willing to "serve" you in that way is basically the same thing.

Except it is not.

"Alright, I am done with this. My brain can't keep up with this conversation anymore." I stood up and walked towards the bedroom.

"Where are you going?"

"To bed." I realized the implication of those words. "To sleep, just to sleep. Don't get any weird ideas."

"But your answer...?"

"I really can't give you an answer when you suddenly say you are willing to go to that extent in your…service. Just give me some time, okay? Okay."

I didn't wait for her answer, and quickly entered my bedroom and slammed the door behind me.

* * *

Belfast looked as the door was closed on her face and sighed.

"Thanks for that." She said to the other maid.

"He would have eventually found out if he really became the Commander. It's better to let him know now." Sheffield shrugged, as she toyed with one of her guns. "In fact, it could help to recruit him; I am sure you have noticed how he looks at you, Belfast."

"It wasn't sarcasm." A small smile appeared in Belfast's face. "You truly helped."

"…? What do you mean?"

"You eased the situation by bringing up that topic, his hostility towards me could have increased if we continued talking. The fact that he didn't refuse altogether might be because of you, Sheffield."

"..." A conflicted expression appeared on the serious maid face.

Belfast noticed that.

"Even if you aren't entirely convinced yet, you helped to fulfill Her Majesty's wish at least a bit, you can be happy for that, Sheffield."

"I am. But Belfast, are you sure about making him the Commander?"

"That's what the Queen decided."

"What about the current Commander?"

Belfast's eyes twitched.

"I thought you didn't care about her."

Sheffield's eyes narrowed, she was evading the question.

"I am asking about you how I feel about her is irrelevant. "

"…"

Belfast didn't answer, and walked towards the window.

"My time is running out, I have to return to Marcia's side now." She once again tried to change the topic. "They are still searching for you, so you will have to remain here for the time being."

"So it's "Marcia" and not "Commander" now?"

Belfast lowered her head for a bit, and finally answered.

"…I will do everything for Her Majesty, Sheffield." Her silver eyes once again were filled with that fierce determination. "No matter what she asks, it will be done. That's my duty as the Head Maid."

And after saying that, she climbed the window and exited the building.

"…"

Sheffield didn't know how to feel about that.

On the one hand, she felt the same way, she would even throw her life away if it meant helping her Queen; serving her gave her a purpose, meaning to her life. However, Belfast's loyalty seemed different from hers. She couldn't put into words exactly how different, but It was as if it didn't come naturally from her.

As if she was trying her best to suppress herself.

* * *

"How did it go, Belfast?" A voice resounded in the maid's head. She was a few blocks of Ritsuka's apartment, hiding in a shadowy alley while waiting for Marcia.

"We didn't reach an agreement, Lady Warspite. And I am afraid it may be partially my fault."

"How so? Explain."

"It's because of our first meeting, he didn't take lightly that I acted like I didn't know anything."

"…I see. Does he look like a person who holds grudges?"

"He didn't when I first meet him, but maybe I failed to judge his character."

Fujimaru Ritsuka, the person chosen by the Queen to be the Commander.

The first thing Belfast thought upon seeing him from a distance was "unremarkable." He didn't seem like a person who could fight a Siren head-on or one who could command a fleet of shipgirls against the forces of the Siren.

After meeting him, she thought that he was a kind man, if only a bit nostalgic. That feeling was quickly changed as they talked a second time, when he showed a more hostile side. That frankly reassured her a bit, a Commander who was only kind had no place in the battles that are to come. It was good to know that he had a bit of backbone, even if that meant having more difficulty recruiting him.

"However, he didn't actually refuse, so I think we can try again later." Belfast assured. "In fact, Sheffield may be able to convince him."

"Huh, Belfast? Did you say that Sheffield will convince him?"

"Yes. It appears that they are getting along well."

Warspite chuckle.

"I see. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one".

It was a surprise for the head maid too. She couldn't remember seeing Sheffield talking that openly with a human before.

"So even if we didn't get an answer, the possibility is still there. I will say that to her Majesty, good work Bel- eh?" Warspite suddenly cut out. "Your Majesty? I am speaking to…wait, your Majesty…?"

Warspite voice was replaced by another.

"Belfast."

The maid immediately recognized that voice.

"Your Majesty."

She bowed, even though there was no one beside her in the alley.

"Good work today, you have brought us one step closer to securing a proper Commander."

"I did nothing special. It is Sheffield, the one that deserves Your Majesty's praise."

"Regardless, both of you are important to the Royal Navy, as our ears and eyes outside this prison."

"I was told that the humans have lessened the restriction though."

"Indeed, we can move more freely now that they are busy looking for Sheffield, but a prison is still a prison." Elizabeth sighed. "My patience is about to run low, It's time for us to make our move, Belfast"

"What should I do, Your Majesty?"

"Naturally, it's time to strike." The Queen declared determined. "We still can't directly intervene, not until we know for sure where they have the cubes, but that doesn't mean he can't act."

"He? Fujimaru Ritsuka?"

"Indeed, we will need his service now."

"But he hasn't agreed with us yet…"

"Sooner or later he will, it's only natural to follow the Queen of one's country."

"But…"

"You heard me, Belfast. We will put the plan on motion."

"…Yes, Your Majesty."

As she said that, she noticed that she was no longer alone. A woman in black uniform, with short crimson hair and look of relief, walked in the alley.

"Belfast. I was starting to doubt I would find you here."

"Commander…." The maid immediately recognized the woman; it was her Commander, the person that was her friend.

"Oh? Has she finally showed up? Good." The Queen still whispered on her mind. "Take a good look Belfast. Both of them, the Admiral and the Commander, they will pay for insulting us...for insulting the Royal Navy!"

"…"

"Belfast? Is something wrong?" Marcia asked, unaware of the voice inside Belfast's head.

Belfast clenched her fist with force.

"No, Commander, I have successfully accomplished my mission. I have met with the man of the shield."

* * *

"…"

I turned my head to the side, the digital clock in the nightstand marked 11:07 PM

I didn't remember the exact time I went to bed, but it felt like I have been staring at the ceiling for hours.

Yeah, I couldn't sleep, no after what just happened. Now my mind kept associating the word "Master" to sex and that bothered me, a lot. What a way to ruin an important part of my memories in Chaldea.

Also, I was hungry.

"Ahh…" with a groan, I got up. If I wasn't going to sleep, then I might as well prepare something to quench my hunger.

As soon as I left my room, I found that one of the maids, the serious one, was still in my apartment. In fact, she had a broom on her hands, and it appeared she was sweeping the floor.

"What are you doing?" I asked, as I rubbed my eyes.

"Cleaning."

"I see that, I am asking why you are cleaning."

And why you haven't left yet, this is my apartment, you know?

"I couldn't bear watching the floor so dirty any longer." She made a small reverence. "I apologize if that's how you prefer it, pest."

"…"

I sighed, It was clear she didn't plan on leaving.

Also, not a single comment about the sex thing, even when you were then one that brought it up? Sure, let's pretend that never happened and that my memories aren't forever ruined.

I walked toward the kitchen to serve me a glass of water. There, I drank in silence while watching how Sheffield kept sweeping around the place.

"…"

How did this happen, I wondered.

Two nights ago, I was right here, with no other company but myself, working on my student's papers and wondering how I would approach the next subject in the schedule.

And now, this woman was sweeping my floor dressed in a maid uniform, while another one was asking me to enter a war as some kind of military Commander. And everything happened in what? 48 hours? A bit more? It felt like entire months has passed since my only source of surprise was grading an exam with a perfect one hundred.

I sighed again.

Well, it's no use thinking about that now. Things are about to change, but this time, I am prepared for it.

This time I will take the bull by the horns.

"Sheffield."

"What do you want?"

"Do you like mashed potatoes?"

* * *

"Well, aren't you two cute together?"

Unknown to Ritsuka and Sheffield, there was someone observing the scene with sinister interest.

The pale woman was surrounded by hundreds of small floating screens that covered her like a small dome, each of them showing different images. The one she was directing her golden gaze at the moment had a clear image of Fujimaru Ritsuka's apartment. The man in question was currently in the kitchen accompanied by the shipgirl.

"To think that the pawn that disliked humans the most would be the first one to establish a "friendship" with one of them…interesting, very interesting."

She licked her own lips, as if savoring the moment.

"Could it be because of you?" She extended her finger towards the picture of Ritsuka, and caressed it. "Purifier did say you were somewhat special, was she talking about this?"

Although it was normal that most Commanders would feel more affinity with some pawns in particular, it was rare that they would get along with Sheffield so early, especially taking into account the parameters of the current simulation.

"I was sure the military woman would be the one chosen, but I can't deny you have potential, fufufu, I'll be sure to remember your face, little anomaly.."

Things in the Royal Navy were about to change. At last, the final big faction in the board will find their own Commander. Whenever it was the military woman or the strange man, she didn't doubt it would something worth observing.

"Now, speaking of potential…." She moved her eyes to a different screen.

This one showed a tall, demonic-looking woman in the center of an amphitheater of some sort. She was surrounded by a large group of men and women, they were dressed formally and most of them appeared to be of advanced age.

While the group of people showed various degrees of nervousness, like agitated breathing, shivering or sweating, the woman in the center just smiled.

"I thank all of you who decided to remain here in these hard times." The horned woman spoke, her voice was powerful enough to resound in the enormous building. "As a token of appreciation, I want all of you to hear my song." She extended her right hand, and from thin air, a conducting baton appeared. "I guarantee that it will bring peace to your hearts, my children."

She closed her eyes and raised the baton.

The moment she started moving it, and a melody came out of nowhere, as if an entire orchestra was behind her. The hypnotic song began to be heard in the whole amphitheater, following the baton's swift movements.

It was a beautiful song.

From the very first note, the people in the amphitheater couldn't help but to cry. They cried and cried. Even if they didn't find it emotional, they would cry either way; tears would be forced on their checks until they didn't have any water left in their bodies, as that was the woman's wish.

And they couldn't oppose her wishes, the same way a small child can't oppose her mother's authority.

The observing Siren smiled with satisfaction, as she hummed following the song.

It was a song of anguish and despair.

* * *

"I was thinking….don't you have anywhere to go?"

The fork in her hand stopped, as she directed me a look that said "Explain."

The food on the table consisted of the aforementioned mashed potatoes as a side dish, while the main course consisted of a couple of seared chicken breasts. It was a simple meal, appropriate for the average cook I was.

Not that I had anyone else to cook for besides myself, so it wasn't rare that I hadn't developed my culinary skills that much. As long as it didn't taste like shit, it was okay in my book.

"I mean, I thought you were created for protecting humanity from the Sirens and such." I explained.

"There's currently no Siren threat."

"Well, but what would happen if they attacked now, for example. Would you need to leave running to fight them?"

"Sirens attacks are rare, and for most of them, Belfast would be enough. However…" She inspected the portion of chicken in her fork, as if she had never seen one before. "If that "Purifier" attacked again, then I would have to go…no, probably all ships in the Royal Navy would need to be deployed."

She then brought the fork to her mouth and started chewing slowly, as if tasting every single bite.

If she liked it or not, she made no comment.

"So that was a special Siren?"

"Normally, the ones we fight are similar to robots, they don't show emotions, and they barely speak. That one was a complete deviant."

I had the feeling that was the case. However, that didn't mean I wasn't a bit relieved to know that there aren't hundreds of Purifiers out there. One is already enough.

"Though, I suspect you know all that already." She said nonchalantly.

"Huh?"

"As far as I am aware, you know more than you say, pest."

"You still don't trust me? Even after I cooked for you? How ungrateful." I said, half-joking as, I bring to my mouth some of the mashed potatoes. "Yeah, this turned out quite good."

"You don't trust us either."

"I don't trust Belfast." I corrected her.

A somewhat expression of confusion appeared on her face, it was a subtly change. But I was starting to recognize her change in humor; however small they were.

"Are you saying you trust me?"

"Trust is a big word, let's just say I am more prone to believe in what you say than anything that comes out of the other maid's mouth." I drank some beer.

Silence, I could almost see the question marks appearing above her head.

"Why?" She finally asked. "Have I not made it clear that I consider you a plague to be exterminated? Or could it be that you are a masochist?"

Please don't talk about kinks while wearing a maid uniform.

"Well, in my experience, there are a couple of things you can't fake. Hate is one of them."I didn't intend to, but I found myself speaking seriously. "You can fake love, friendship, or affection, and quite efficiently if you are use to it."

To my mind came back the smile of Kingu, so peaceful and friendly while he guided us towards our dead.

"But you can't fake hate, or at least it's a lot more difficult." I took another sip. "It's funny, but if you think about it, the fact that you tried to kill me is probably a lot more "honest" that what Belfast did with that little act."

"…"

She didn't say anything, and I resumed eating.

"Hmm, really, the chicken is nothing special, but this mashes potatoes…." I brought some more to my mouth. "I really outdid myself this time, maybe adding the milk did the trick?"

"Who are you?"

"…I am me."I said, simply. "Don't start with existentialisms; your food is going to get cold, and you really should try the mashed potatoes."

"I have met dozens of humans since I was created, and you are the weirdest of them."

I guess you don't meet trash magus who saved another world that often.

"I will take that as a compliment."

"It wasn't."

"I know." I continued eating.

"…."

More silence.

She stared at me for a couple of minutes, until she realized she wasn't getting a reaction.

Her eyes then moved to the plate where the mashed potatoes were, and with the same low movements as before, she took some with a spoon and brought it to her mouth.

"…It's decent." She said.

I smiled.

"I am glad you like it."

She didn't answer but continued eating regardless.

And so, the rest of the meal was enjoyed in silence, with the only the sound of the night in the background.

* * *

"I guess it's a bit late to ask but…you won't go anywhere, right?"

I was doing the dishes, and Sheffield was actually helping me this time. Apparently, making me do everything after she did eat some of the food would be a shameful display worthy of one of those "vermins", so she was by my side drying the plates with a towel.

"I was instructed to remain here by the Queen."

"I thought so. You don't want me to suddenly disappear if you leave me alone, right?"

"Not everything is about you, pest."

"Why then?" I passed her a saucepan.

"You don't need to know." She skillfully received it without even turning.

"Fair enough." I intended to drop the topic, but a sudden thought invaded my head. "Would you be obliged to tell me if I become the Commander?"

Her hands stopped.

She turned to me with a deadpanned stare, which said "don't try to use that logic."

"Don't worry, it's a joke." I chuckled. "I am still not sure if I want to take that responsibility."

Although it was entirely possible that I didn't have a choice.

"Even if you reject us, her Majesty won't take a no for an answer. Once she decides something, she will do everything to attain it."

"What about you, though? I take you won't be too happy having me as your boss."

"What I want is irrelevant." She said, drily.

"Even if you say that, a leader that no one truly follows or trusts is doomed to failure."

I was lucky at my time in Chaldea, I had time to learn how to lead people while I was getting to know my Servants. Even though I was the one giving the orders, they were the ones that taught me how.

Not that I believe that I am on par with Zhuge Liang now, I am just a bit aware of how leading people and morale works.

"I would hate every second of it, but if you truly become the Commander, then I would follow your orders."

"…" I gave her a surprised look. Even if she said that, I didn't feel any hostility in those words. Was her devotion to the Queen strong enough to force her to put up with her repulsion?

"Really? Any order?"

"If you are asking if I would sleep with you, then yes."

The plate in my hands slipped, making a loud sound as it crashed against the sink. It was a miracle that it didn't broke.

"I wasn't asking that!" I quickly retorted, feeling a bit ashamed. "I just wanted to know the extent of your loyalty…"

"The Master can't contradict her Majesty, that's the only restriction. You would be free to submit us in any kind of perverse play that you have in mind."

"…Hey, I am not that type of guy, you know?"

"You can't fool me pest, don't think I didn't notice how you look at Belfast."

"…why are we talking about this again? I don't think I am comfortable talking about this with you."

She released what I could only describe as the world's quietest chucked.

Wait, was she mocking me?

"You vermins give too much importance to intercourse."

"…"

Well, sorry for having been taught morals.

"Maybe you give it too little importance."

"We aren't like you, weapons like us don't care about such things. All I need to care about is how to serve her Majesty properly."

"…."

Again, she was contradicting herself.

She said she was a weapon, but a weapon shouldn't feel any emotion, nor even hate. It should move only to kill, disregarding anything else. But she does care about the Queen, or at least I think she does, and she clearly dislikes me. In my opinion, she failed as one already.

However, I didn't consider that something bad.

"That would change, though."

"Huh?"

"If I became the Commander, Master, or whatever you want to call it, I won't treat you as weapon."

"And how would you treat me?"

"As a comrade."

I passed another plate to her, as I have been doing since we started, but she didn't take it this time. Instead, she looked at me, directly to my eyes, as if trying to discern if I was lying or not.

I wasn't, so I looked back at her, showing how serious I was.

We didn't say anything, as we looked at each other.

"…"

"…"

It was almost like a competition, neither of us wanted to be the first one to look away.

"I mean it." I was the first one to break the silence, as it seemed that neither of us would back away.

"I don't believe you." Her gaze adopted a defiant look. "No human would call someone they hate their comrade, much less someone like me."

"…I don't hate you though."

"What…?"

"Do you think I would be talking with you like this if I did?"

"…."

The idea that I didn't hate her seemed to hit her hard, as she took the plate and continued drying the dishes without another word.

* * *

The conversation died down after that. Thankfully, there were only a few dishes left to wash.

"Done." I finished with the last plate. "I am not sure how late it is, but I am a bit sleepy." I rubbed my eyes a bit. "I am going to sleep, what are you going to do?"

I don't feel comfortable knowing she would be to be prowling around my house all night.

"Sleep." She said, but didn't look at me.

"I see…well, it's not much but you can use the sofa. I can bring you some mattresses if you want…."

"That won't be necessary."She didn't let me finish and sat on the sofa, still not looking at me.

She was acting strange, maybe I say something that I shouldn't.

"Alright."

Better leave her alone for now.

I walked towards my bedroom, but stopped before entering.

"Good night, Sheffield."

She waited a bit before answering.

"Good night."

* * *

She felt strange.

Being around him made her feel strange.

Up until to that point, the humans around her either treated her like she wasn't a conscious being or avoided her altogether.

And she honestly preferred that, interacting with the humans would bring the worst of her; and as much as she disliked them, going against them would only hurt Her Majesty's plan.

So when she found that man, someone who she considered a traitor, she actually felt relieved. Finally, she would put down one of those accursed humans, the ones that had insulted the Queen, forcing her to be their slave.

But that man, the man that she was going to kill….he…

She walked towards his bedroom; it was easy for her to unlock the door.

There, the man that survived her, the same one who showed a strange ability to heal her and the one who had hurt a Siren, was sleeping defenseless.

It was so easy to kill him that it felt like a joke.

A gun appeared on her hand.

She realized that she was disobeying Her Majesty's orders, and she hated herself for that. But she didn't know him, none of them actually know him. He was actually a powerful, unknown threat to the Royal Navy, not only because he had fought a Siren, but also for that strange power he possessed, the one that had been messing with her head since they started talking.

Why else was disobeying her Queen? Why else did she always find herself at a loss of words when they interact?

Why else did she feel, only for a couple of seconds, a little relieved when she heard he didn't hate her?

It must have a trick, yes. He was messing with her head, and he should be stopped.

She pointed her gun at his sleeping body, her finger on the trigger; she only needed to press it to end his life once for all.

"…"

Her hand trembled as she desperately tried to pull the trigger.

But she couldn't.

It was so easy before, so why she couldn't do it now?

"What….what have you done to me…?" She asked the sleeping man.

"Sheffield."

A voice resounded in her head, and her gun disappeared in the air.

"Belfast…?"

"Prepare yourself, Sheffield, Her Majesty's plan is already in motion."

* * *

The alarm ringed at 10:08 PM, even though I didn't remember programming it to sound at such a particular time.

It worked for me either way, sleeping until 12 could evolve into a bad habit, even if it was Sunday.

"Good morning." I exited my room, still half-asleep. and walked towards the bathroom. "How did you sleep, Shef-?"

I stopped, noticing that the maid was nowhere to be found.

"Sheffield?"

I looked around the living room, but she wasn't there; the bathroom was also empty, so she definitely wasn't in the house.

Did she leave? I thought she had been ordered to stay here, maybe something important came up.

Not that I don't appreciate some time alone, it should give me some time to work at peace. After all, I had neglected reviewing the lesson for Monday due to all this mess, so I could finally start working on that.

Or that's what I thought because I heard someone knocking the door.

Was that Sheffield? No, she wouldn't knock; it would be far easier for her to just enter using the window.

"Yes?" I approached the door, and asked.

"Fujimaru Ritsuka? It's the police; we need to talk about something related to the vandalism.

Oh, fuck me.

"Just a second."

I quickly went to the bathroom and washed my face.

I couldn't lie, I actually hoped they would forget about the broken things incident. Turns out, the police were actually competent this time, and they were investigating the case.

Maybe I would need to pay for the things I broke in the end….

While I thought that, I dressed in more proper clothes than a pair of pajamas, and finally went to open the door.

Behind the door was the officer that had come yesterday, this time accompanied by two other policemen.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

"Good morning, Mr. Fujimaru." The office spoke. "We have a suspect in custody for the vandalism case."

"…what? A suspect?"

"Some witnesses claimed to have seen him running away from here yesterday night. We need you to come to the station to identify him."

What is going on? There can't be a suspect…since it was me, after all. Did they arrest someone innocent? I take that thought of the police being competent back, they got the wrong guy.

"Eh…well…I am not sure if I can be of any help." I tried to wash my hands of the matter. "As I said yesterday, I slept the entire night, so I couldn't see anyone."

"I see…but it's part of the protocol that we ask everyone in the building."

They sure were being persistent.

"It would be a waste of time, though. I don't…"

As I spoke, I noticed that one of the policemen that haven't talked yet had his hand close to his gun holster, too close really.

A quick look to his face revealed a serious, but nervous expression. As our eyes met, I noticed how he avoided my gaze.

"It's protocol." Reiterated the officer, this time more seriously."We really need you to come to the station."

"I see." I realized the severity of the situation. "I will go with you then."

"...Thanks for your cooperation." The man's tone suddenly changed to a more relaxed one, as if a heavyweight had been lifted off his shoulders.

I picked my keys and took a last look at my apartment. Lord Camelot wasn't hanged in the wall like normally. Instead, it lay on the floor, where I had left it after my encounter with Purifier.

I looked at it for a couple of seconds until I finally accompanied the policemen.

* * *

I was sitting in a small cold room, with only a metal table and one chair in front of me.

Apart from the lack of the typical fake mirror that occupied half the wall, it was a classical interrogation room.

My hands weren't handcuffed, maybe because they thought it wasn't necessary or perhaps to maintain the illusion that they weren't arresting me.

I noticed from the start, though. They didn't want me to identify a suspect, this wasn't about the vandalism case at all. No policemen would be ready to shoot at someone if they only believed they broke a window.

This is something more, they knew something about me.

The question was: what did they know? I wasn't proud of it, but I had done some illegal things in these seven years.

Maybe they somehow found out that my documents are fake? That the person known as Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't exist until six years ago?

This was a dangerous situation for me, and especially for them. I would hate to have to resort to methods that I frankly don't like.

"…."

They have kept me waiting for about an hour now, and my mind was starting to get weird ideas... I was really no good being locked up.

I should be calm; everything is going to be okay. There's no need for anyone to get hurt.

Before my mind could develop more weird ideas, I heard the door being open. A woman with short red hair walked in, she was wearing a black uniform, which was closer to a military one than a normal police one.

She sat in front of me, and threw a brown binder in the metal table.

It had my name on it.

"…what am I being accused of?" I asked.

The woman didn't answer at first and just looked at me with a serious expression.

"You don't look like someone who could fight a Siren."

"…!? Who are you?"

"My name is Marcia Haydes, Commander of the Prototype Fleet." She put her hands on the table and moved closer to me. "We finally meet, man of the shield."

**END OF CHAPTER 8**

* * *

**AN: **Another month absent, another longer chapter than usual. This may become the norm as my classes are still going strong.

About the chapter, I know it may feel a bit on the slow side, but things need to be set and relationships have to start from somewhere. I personally enjoy these conversation oriented chapters more than action ones, but don't worry, I will write those too when the situation calls for them.

Anyway, thanks for reading, see you on the next one.

EDIT: Someone in the comments got the prequels reference, my proofreader can die in peace now.


	9. Chapter 9: Queen's Orders

**Chapter 9: Queen's Orders**

For a long time, she didn't understand them.

"You were created to protect us." They repeated, over and over again, but not a single time did she felt as if she was actually protecting someone.

They ordered her to destroy, to use her fists to break things apart, to shoot her cannons and make things explode.

They ordered her to kill other beings.

And she carried out those orders to the letter. She broke, destroyed, and killed, but not a single time did they see her as a protector, nor did they see her as another living being.

They saw her as a weapon, a tool to be used to fight their enemies.

And maybe that was fine; perhaps that was the meaning of serving humanity. She was a maid, after all, her whole life revolved around serving others.

Her own feelings were, to put it simply, irrelevant.

And that's what she thought, until the day she met her.

Truth to be told, Belfast didn't exactly remember what they talked about on that occasion, though she was sure it must have been about the various Sirens' attacks and their possible next move.

What she did remember was the look on her amber-tinted eyes.

Even the head maid wasn't meticulous enough to remember such specific detail. However, she couldn't help it, since it was the first time someone looked at her like that: not as a weapon or a tool, but as another conscious being.

As if she was actually alive.

At that was…curious, to say the least.

* * *

The same eyes that looked at the maid in the past, with a mixture of curiosity and amazement, now were focused on the man in front of her, the man who is said to have fought a Siren with no help other than a shield.

Her gaze might have carried the same curiosity as before, but the situation was hardly the same.

While Belfast showed some degree of loyalty toward them, she couldn't predict this man at all; his real identity, as well as his alignment, was a complete mystery to them.

And that was too dangerous to be left alone.

"Ritsuka Fujimaru, born in 1998, on Fukui prefecture, Japan. "She opened the binder and started reading. "Immigrated to the United Kingdom in 2018, as a part of a study program in London. Four years on college until graduation, as a classic history teacher. Took a job in a local middle school two years ago, and is currently working there." Her eyes went from the binder to the silent man in front of her. "Is this information correct?"

"…"

He didn't say anything, his gaze was downcast.

"Criminal history is clear, not even a single infraction in six years." Marcia continued. "No close relatives living in the country and no known partner. If you didn't work, I could almost mistake you as a hermit, Fujimaru."

"…"

"And that's all the information we could gather from you in these couple of hours. As far as we know, you are nothing more than an average citizen." She closed the binder. "However, you and I know there is more than what it's written here."

"…I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Oh? So you can talk after all? Good. Why don't we start when you tell me who you really are?"

"…Who am I?" A quiet chuckled came out of his mouth.

"Did I say something funny?" She stared daggers at him.

"No. It just that someone asked me that very same question recently." He finally looked at her, his eye showed apathy. "And the answer is still the same; I am me, nothing more, nothing less."

"That's not answer."

"It's the only answer I have, sadly." He shrugged."What it says in that report is correct, I came here when I was twenty, studied in college, and got a job in St. Benedict's School. Also, I don't have many friends." He sighed." If you find that strange, then try immigrating to another country, it's quite a fun experience."

"Is that so?" Marcia didn't believe for a second that story. "Well, for someone who doesn't have many friends, you seem to be well accompanied."

"Huh?"

The Commander took a photo off the binder and placed it in the table.

"…Tch." His eyed narrowed.

It was a picture of Ritsuka's apartment; it showed him having dinner with a woman dressed in a maid uniform.

"Who is the woman?"

"…a maid."

Marcia felt a vein starting to pop in her forehead.

"And what's her name?"

"She told me it was Sheffield."

"Sheffield, huh? That's quite a weird name for a person, don't you think so?"

"My own name is quite rare here, I don't judge."

"I see..." Marcia was really starting to get pissed. "Then, how do you meet her?"

"…why is that important? Whoever I meet in my personal life shouldn't be of concern to the police."

"That would be true if that woman wasn't a sentient weapon of mass destruction." She explained calmly. "And you are wrong, it's not of concern of the police, rather, it's a concern to the entire nation."

"…!" The man eyes opened like plates for a second. Still, he ultimately didn't say anything, choosing to regress to his previous mute state.

"Her existence is a national secret; you could easily be labeled as terrorist just by meeting her unauthorized." Her calm tone was heavily contrasted with the harsh words. "It wouldn't be unusual for you to get locked in and spend the rest of your life in a dirty cell just for exchanging a couple of words with her."

"Look I…" The man finally started to show some nervousness. "I really don't understand what you're saying…You haven't even told me what am I accused of, and now you suddenly start calling me a terrorist? I have cooperated with you so far, but I think it's time to call my lawyer."

"There is no lawyer for you."

"What!?"

She closed the distance between them a bit and spoke in whispers.

"And even if you could have it, there will be no trial for you. As far as we are concerned, you are collaborating with an unknown species that are trying to eradicate humanity." She stared at him seriously. "No lawyer will defend you, no jury will find you innocent."

"..." He once again avoided her gaze.

"Pretending that you don't know anything won't help you either." She crossed her arms. "We already know what you did; it's useless to deny it."

The man didn't answer, but he definitely knew what Marcia was talking about. She could see it in his eyes. It was all an act; he wasn't confused by her words at all.

He knew everything, possibly even more than her.

"Your only option is confessing."

"Confessing?"

They needed to know, they really needed to know who this man was.

"Tell us everything you know about the Sirens and the prototypes, and we are willing to reach an agreement. We will let you return to your life, with only minor restrictions and constant monitoring, but only if you tell us everything."

It was a good deal, too good in Marcia's opinion.

But she was willing to make it through, as long as the man was willing to cooperate. It was her best bet of getting the information she wanted after all.

Otherwise, there were still some more unsavory methods to get the information they wanted, but Marcia wasn't an idiot; if he really fought a Siren, then she would be easily outmatched by him.

She would prefer this matter to be resolved as peacefully as possible. Still, just in case, she had posted Belfast just behind the door, ready to stop him if he made any strange movement.

He didn't instantly respond, but when he did, his voice had a tone of anger.

"…you will "let" me returning to my life?" He put a strange emphasis on the word "let."

"Yes." Marcia didn't miss that change on tone, but she had to continue pushing. "As long as you tell us your relationship with the Sirens, where to find prototype 05, and most importantly…"

She took another photo of the binder, the picture showed an enormous black and grey shield.

"The nature of this object."

Upon seeing the photo, the expression on the man's face suddenly changed for a second. The somewhat meek and detached expression disappeared and was replaced by a furious gaze.

"You…!"

The stare that the man gave to Marcia was one of absolute loathing as if the sole idea of them touching that object was enough to make him explode in rage. She briefly considered calling Belfast.

However, it didn't last.

The moment he seemed to start a rant, he stopped, and his eyes went once again to the photo of the shield as if realizing something.

Then, the previous rage-filled expression was replaced with a strange, almost mocking smile.

Marcia didn't like that.

"That's just a friend's antiquity. What of it?"

That was a lie; no one would make that expression just for some "antiquity."

"We know it already." She tried to put more pressure since it was clear that the object was important to him. "We know that you used this "shield" to protect yourself from the attacks of a Siren; it's only a matter of time until we discover how it works."

"Is that so? Go for it then."

"…Pardon?" Now Marcia was the one confused.

"You have my permission to study it if you want." Her voice suddenly adopted a defiant tone. "It was on the floor when I came here, and I presume it was still there when you goons entered my house." His smile didn't leave his face. "So, you are free to take it."

"…I will repeat my question, what is this object?"

"You tried it, didn't you? You tried to move it, but couldn't lift it at all." He started chuckling as if the Commander had made a joke. "I bet you couldn't move it an inch."

Marcia hit the table.

"I won't repeat myself a second time!" She felt herself losing the leading position in the interrogation." What is that shield? Some kind of new technology? A weapon!?"

The man laughed and shook his head.

"It's no use. Even I tell you, even if you put your filthy hands on it and try to decipher its meaning, you will fail." He stared at Marcia, his voice suddenly gained a tone of superiority. "You won't be able to use it, because you don't know anything about her."

"Her…? What does that mean!?"

"But it doesn't matter." He kept talking as if he was mesmerized with his own word. "People like you, who just want to take her power for your own gains…you don't deserve to know about her, you ignorant fool."

"…you are crazy." The Commander stood up and walked towards the door. "Maybe some time behind bars will help you understand your situation."

Marcia knocked on the door, and two policemen entered the room.

"Oh no, it's you, the one that doesn't understand! Locking me up won't change anything!"The policemen forcibly pushed him on the metal table, as they took both his arms and handcuffed him. "Her story, her sacrifice… you all… you all don't deserve it! You hear me!? You don't deserve it!"

He didn't resist as he was taken to an empty cell.

* * *

Marcia sat again in the now-empty interrogation room, sinking her face on her hands.

That hadn't gone well.

The military had people specialized in interrogations, Marcia wasn't one of them. Maybe she had gone too far. Perhaps she should have been less aggressive so that the man was more willing to cooperate.

Either way, she couldn't help but feel that she failed.

"Commander?" Someone called for her

She raised her head to see Belfast by the door. The maid wasn't wearing her usual outfit. Instead, she wore a black military uniform, a bit similar to the one Marcia was wearing, while her long white hair was done in a ponytail.

"Belfast, has he made any attempt to escape?"

"No, he seemed to have calmed down after we locked him in one of the cells."

"Is he being watched?"

"An officer is guarding just in front of his cell. If he makes any strange move, we will know immediately."

"Good." Marcia gestured Belfast to enter and to close the door behind her. "Do they suspect something?" Even if they were the only ones in the room, she spoke in a quieter tone this time.

"They don't talk around me; it appears that they are pretty shaken about the whole situation. However, it's safe to assume that they believe what you told them, Commander."

"It was to be expected. For the military to appear out of nowhere to start giving orders would make anyone suspicious."

It was sort of a miracle she could set up the operative to arrest Fujimaru so quickly, without the help of the local police, it would have been impossible.

However, their operation must remain a secret. The local police couldn't know about the existence of the prototypes or the Sirens.

They'll need to act quickly.

"We can't let him stay here for much longer." She took her cell phone out of her pocket, an old folding one. "We should move him from here as quickly as possible."

"Indeed, but we can't be restless either, Commander."

"…? Explain yourself."

"If we move him now, the policemen might start asking questions. It would be better if we do it at night and without that many eyes looking at him."

"That would be dangerous." Marcia wasn't convinced."Who knows when he may suddenly attack? I can't let him hurt the people here."

"You think he is just pretending to be a captive?"

"I…really don't know what to think anymore."

When Marcia was told that they had a new enemy, one that possessed technology that they had never seen before and could quickly sink their entire naval fleet in a matter of hours, she thought things couldn't get any crazier.

She was proven wrong once, as she was introduced to the prototypes.

Now, it was happening again.

It was one thing being told that some guy apparently fought a Siren; it was another thing being presented with a shield that it's impervious to all their tests, as well as being so heavy that even 10 people can't lift it.

She really didn't know what to expect next. At that point, it wouldn't be that strange for magic to be real.

"I won't be taking any risks. We are moving him to a safe house now." She started dialing.

"Commander, I really think we should wait." Belfast insisted. "Only a couple of hours will be necessary until most of the personnel leave. I will guard him personally until the time comes.

"…."

The Commander's fingers stopped.

She had noticed already; Belfast had been acting strange since the whole affair with the man of the shield started. It wasn't that her behaviors had changed drastically. It was more like subtle changes like been more adamant than usual or being more forceful with her words.

Something must have happened after they talked, something she kept hidden.

…

Marcia trusted Belfast, to some extent.

The fact that she told her about Fujimaru, as well as her ueen's plan to remove her from the commanding position should have been enough to guarantee her loyalty.

However…

"Belfast, is there something about that guy that you aren't telling me?"

However, no matter how much she wanted, she couldn't shake the feeling that Belfast wasn't being completely honest.

Belfast stared at her, the silver eyes meet her own, and for a second, she was transported back to when they meet for the first time. However, they didn't show the same light as back then.

They were different now.

"I have told you everything, Commander." She finally said.

"…I see." She stood up. "Go guard him for now, I'll prepare everything to move him to a safe house tonight."

"You have my thanks, Commander." Belfast made a reverence.

Marcia didn't answer and just exited the room.

Belfast was lying. She was definitely hiding something from her, but she couldn't know what. The only thing she hoped was that whatever she was hiding aligned towards them, towards humanity.

Because if it didn't, then she wouldn't be able to stop her.

At least, not her

She took her phone once again and started dialing a different number than before.

"It's me, sir." She spoke in a stern tone. "If you don't hear anything about me by tomorrow, then the prototypes betrayed us."

* * *

The admiral closed his phone with force and silently stared at it for a couple of seconds.

"Those pieces of junk…" He exited his office in a hurry and began to walk towards a specific part of the vast military base; some soldiers saluted him as he walked past them, but he paid them no mind; as he was too focused on Marcia's words.

He knew that this day would eventually come up. The question was: Were they prepared for it?

After walking for about ten minutes, he reached a metallic door. It looked no different from any other door in the base, aside from a small panel just to the side of it.

He put his hand on the scanner, and after a couple of seconds, the light on it turned from red to green.

However, the door didn't open immediately.

"Who is it?" Someone asked from behind the door after a couple of minutes.

"It's me, you idiot." He commented, with a tone of annoyance. "My hand is still attached to the rest of my body, let me in at once."

The door opened, revealing a man in a white coat, similar to that of a doctor. The man in question was a bit on the older side, his head was starting to show signs of baldness, and some wrinkles populated his face.

"Sorry, protocol; you know how it is, Admiral."

"Yeah, yeah, don't waste my time and show me your progress."

The old man smiled.

"You'll see."

Both men descended a staircase that seemed to go on forever until they arrived at a dark room. The room was completely empty, aside from a big window that occupied almost the entire wall; the dim light that came from it was the only thing that illuminated the room.

On the other side of the window, there was an even bigger room full of strange machines and people in white hazmat suits. They came and went around the two glass pillars that were the center of the room.

Inside, each pillar was a humanoid figure. Both of them were connected to a series of wires, as they floated unanimated in a strange glowing blue liquid.

The figures resembled human beings, but they were a far cry from them. Their skins were completely colorless, any kind of female or male trait was missing, and they also lacked nails and any kind of hair.

It was as if those beings were blank slates as if they were somewhat incomplete.

"They started reacting to some stimulus. " The old man said proudly. "With another month, we should be able to start testing their mobility outside the tubes."

"You have until tomorrow."

"…what?"

"You have until tomorrow, twenty-four hours at most, to wake them up and make sure that these ones actually follow our orders."

The old man couldn't contain his surprise.

"Do you understand what are you asking us? Any mistake could delay us months of work! They are simply not ready to…"

"We are all getting killed if you don't have them by tomorrow!" He took the old man by his coat. "I don't care how, but make them work! Isn't that's your specialty, Mr. creator of sentient weapons!?"

The old man wanted to say something but forced himself to remain silent.

"Last time you finished five of them in only a couple of months, you just have to do the same with these two." He released him. "Just make sure these ones don't have a personality."

The old man signed.

"I will speed the process..." He said reluctantly. "But, you know what happened last time we tried this."

"I am well aware, but I am willing to take the risk" He made a small pause. "Someone has to."

* * *

Good fucking work at staying calm, Ritsuka. Now you are in jail, precisely what you needed.

"Ahh, I want to hit myself in the guts so damn hard…" I lamented while lying on the hard prison bed.

I couldn't help it; I lost my temper when she said they would "let" me return to my life. Who the fuck do they think they are? After all I have done, they dare to…!

No, stop it.

It's no use getting angry now, especially knowing that was the cause I ended up here. Better use my brain cells to think of a way out of this mess.

"And what a mess I got into…."

I stood up, and for the first time, I took a careful look at the cell I was in.

The only living arrangements were the bed I was on, it was so small that I would surely have half of a body out if I tried to sleep on it; a dirty sink that appeared to have been cleaned a month ago; and a toilet, which I refuse to even look at it. This hellhole didn't even have windows; the nights must be pretty dark in this room.

I walked towards the rusty steel bars that prevented my escape and looked to each side of the cell. No other prisoner was being held in the adjacent cells, and the only person aside from me in the room was a policeman, who seemed to be trying his best to ignore me.

I disregarded him and focused on the bars. A soft hit revealed that despite being almost more rust than steel, they were firm, no normal human would be able to break them with just their hands; fortunately, I wasn't exactly normal.

The problem, however, laid elsewhere.

"…."

I could easily break these bars using reinforcement, and I was sure I could knock out the guard before he could take his gun.

But then what? What was I going to do after escaping? If what that woman said was true, I won't be just a regular criminal, but a terrorist. I wouldn't be able to escape from the police for long if my photo was all over the news, let alone leaving the country.

"…"

I sighed deeply.

I was beating around the bush, as I knew perfectly how to solve this situation but…Did I really have to? After all these years…did I have to do it again?

I refused to consider that possibility. There had to be another way.

Maybe it was time. I didn't want to ask for his help again but…

As I was lost in my thoughts, I could hear a voice; the guard was speaking with another person, a woman.

I didn't have to wait to figure out who it was; she walked directly towards my cell.

And there she was, the woman I first thought was just a normal human buying things in the store, wearing a black military uniform.

"You again… "

"Fujimaru Ritsuka." She made a reverence as if she was saluting a superior. "After what happened between us, I really would have wanted for our next meeting to be under better circumstances."

"Alas, I am in jail, not the best circumstance for a conversation." I got as close as possible to her, gripping the bars. "Why are you here, anyway? And that uniform…you must be one of them."

"Marcia Haydes is our acting Commander; she leads the first line of defense against the Sirens."

"So that woman is your Commander….that explains why she seems to know about everything. However, that doesn't change anything; I am not telling you anything about the shield."

"I am not here for that, rather I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?"

"Since we meet, I haven't caused anything but trouble for you, and that's unforgivable for a maid." The maid sounded genuinely sad. "You even ended up here because of me."

"Because of you? What are you-?" At that moment, I remembered something. "Wait…That woman, she showed me photos of my apartment, photos of Sheffield and me having dinner. I didn't overthink at that time, but…how did she know that we were together in the first place? Someone must have told her that I was with Sheffield."

"…" She didn't answer, but it was clear.

"All this…was your doing?"

"Due to some circumstances, I was forced to tell the Commander." Belfast lowered her head again. "Again, I am deeply sorry."

"I don't want your apologies!" I shouted furiously. "Nor do I want anything to do with you! Leave at once!"

"If that's what you want, I will." She looked at me seriously. "But I won't leave alone."

"What?"

The maid took a key from one of her pockets and walked towards the door.

"Wait, what are you doing?" I instinctively looked at where the guard was a few minutes before, he wasn't there. Did Belfast make him go away?

"The Queen doesn't approve for her chosen Commander to be a prisoner. You are to be released immediately."

Belfast opened the door for me.

"And you will let me go, just like that?"

"I am partially responsible for your situation; this is the least I could do."

"…."

The door was open, but I didn't move as I was baffled. Why would they go all the way to lock me here, just to release me a few hours later?

Something didn't feel right about this…

"If your Queen ordered for me to be released, then why you are the one letting me go instead of that woman, Marcia, was it?"

"Marcia Haydes acted on her own, ignoring Her Majesty's wishes."

"It feels like the opposite, actually. It's like you are acting on your own now."

Belfast didn't answer immediately, as if she was meditating her response.

"There is some friction between Her Majesty and our humans' allies, that's one of the reasons we wanted a human chosen by the Queen to be the Commander, however…" She suddenly went quiet.

"However?"

"It's nothing." It didn't continue. "We should get going now, once you meet the Queen, this misunderstanding should be cleared up."

She seemed to want me to follow her, but I didn't move.

"I am afraid I am not going anywhere." This might have been an excellent chance to get out of here, but I still didn't trust her. "Not until I am formally released."

Belfast stared at me for a second and released a deep sigh.

"They aren't going to let you go easily, Ritsuka. Commander Marcia is convinced that you know something…."She entered the cell. "…and she is correct, right?"

"…"

"Pardon me." Suddenly, she took one of my hands between theirs.

"What are you-?"

"Sheffield noticed that sometimes, green lines appear in your arms, and you seem to become stronger when that happens." She looked at my hand as if she was examining it. "You aren't like the other, are you? You are different."

"That has nothing to do with you." I took my hand away.

"Now that Marcia knows, she isn't going to leave you alone until she discovers what your involvement in this is. And even if you decided to tell her your secrets, you may not be able to return to your normal life, you may remain a prisoner for the rest of your life."

"And that would be different if I follow your Queen?"

"As a commanding officer, the Royal Navy will support you. By accepting her majesty proposal, you will get a rank similar to that one of her knights; you'll be above all other humans, and no one will be able to tell you how you should live. You won't have to hide what you are, you'll be free."

Above…all other humans?

"Are you saying that the will of the Queen is above human law? That I can do anything, I want as long as I follow her? That doesn't make any sense."

Even if the United Kingdom was under a monarchy, she shouldn't have that much power; there were a parliament and a prime minister, we weren't in medieval times anymore.

"Her Majesty's will is absolute. Once she regains her throne, some things will surely change, but it will be for the better, you don't have to worry about it."

Regains the throne? What is she talking about…?

At that moment, something in my mind clicked, and everything began to make sense.

Could it be…that I was mistaken from the start?

"Belfast...who…who is your queen?" I asked, with a bit of fear.

"Queen Elizabeth I, the rightful owner of the throne."

* * *

Two girls walked through the halls in the subterranean lab. One of them had a confident smirk while the other, who followed her close behind, had a somewhat troubled expression.

"Your Majesty…"

"Yes, Warspite?"

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

The Queen smiled.

"It's Belfast, the one we are talking about; I have no doubt in her performance."

"Ah, don't take me wrong, I trust her too. But the human…."

"Fujimaru Ritsuka, what about him?"

"Are you sure he will side with us? We haven't even talked directly with him yet." Warspite couldn't hide her worry; all they knew about that man was through the maids after all.

"Belfast will convince him, I am sure of it. Besides…" She looked around the base, all she could see around her were the steel and concrete wall, the same one that prevented her from seeing the light of the day. "He has a reason to choose us now; it's unthinkable for someone to side with their captors, with the people robbing his freedom." A sad smile appeared on Elizabeth's face.

"Your Majesty…"

Warspite wanted to say something, but someone interrupted their conversation.

"You two…what are you doing roaming around the base!? Who let you leave your room?" A furious soldier shouted as he began to approach them.

"Don't talk like that to her Majesty!" Warspite tried to put herself between the man and the Queen.

"It's okay, Warspite." Elizabeth, however, walked past her to face the man directly. "Let me handle this."

"You'll have to return to your-"

"Hear me out! Oh, dear citizen!" Elizabeth interrupted him, shouting with her characteristic commanding tone. "What you are doing is incredibly disrespectful! However, I, the Queen, in my infinite benevolence, will forgive you!"

The man remained speechless for a second, but starting shouting again once the initial shock had passed.

"You defective weapon. Who do you think you are!?" The man tried to force Elizabeth to return to her room, but he stopped before his hand could reach her.

No, he didn't stop. He was forced to stop. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't lay a finger on the shipgirl, as if an invisible force was preventing him.

"You, and this entire base, are misguided. But it's not your fault, no, you only lack good leadership." Elizabeth nodded to her own words.

The man's hand, a few centimeters away from Elizabeth's face, started trembling, as he suddenly felt a freezing sensation going through his body. What was happening to him? Something like that never happened before.

"Soon, you'll see how wrong you are, and when that time comes, I'll be there to gladly accept your apology!"

He felt strange…he felt like the sole idea of touching her was forbidden, as if laying a hand on the shipgirl would be the most nefarious of the crimes.

He felt, for some reason, that he mustn't touch her. Instead, he must…

"This…this isn't going to stay like this…" He quickly withdrew his hand and went away, leaving the two shipgirls alone again.

As he walked away from them, he began to feel like his old self again. All those weird sensations started to disappear.

But what was that? Why did he feel that he must kneel before her? She was a weapon, a tool, he couldn't possibly….

The man quickly erased these thoughts of his head. He was just tired, he thought.

That was the only explanation.

* * *

"Your Majesty…? What was that?" The knight couldn't help but ask.

"I told you, Warspite." The queen continued walking as if nothing had happened. "They are beginning to understand."

"Eh..?"

"They finally see it, who the real monarch of this country is."

* * *

My heart almost skipped a beat as I heard Belfast's answer.

I was wrong, I was wrong all along.

I thought the Sirens as the only enemies, but these maids, this…"Royal Navy", they weren't exactly the good guys either.

This "Queen" Belfast speaks of wasn't the current queen of the country; instead, it was someone who thinks she was the Queen or someone who wanted to occupy the place of the Queen, possibly one of these "weapons."

And if Belfast words were the truth, they were likely planning a coup d'etat.

Things were far grimmer than I thought. I could no longer remain passive in this situation, who knows what could happen if that person really overthrew the government.

It was time to play my own cards in this whole mess.

"Belfast." I suddenly put my hands on her shoulders. "I accept your proposal."

"Eh?"

I couldn't fight both of the Sirens and these maids by myself, but maybe there was another way, a way to put one of these two forces against the other.

"I have decided, I'll be you Commander…no, I'll be your Master."

**END OF CHAPTER 9**

* * *

**AN:** Exams are fun, especially when you have 3 in the same week.

So yeah, I am sure you must be tired of reading about me complaining about my classes. On the bright side, I did pretty well on my exams, so there's that.

About the chapter, my proofreader did say it feels a bit slow and I kind of agree with him. Maybe I am setting too many things and delivering too little, hopefully next chapter should feel less slow.

See you on the next chapter.


	10. Chapter 10: Taking the Reins

**Chapter 10: Taking the Reins**

"I had no choice but to tell the Commander about Ritsuka's existence. I deeply apologize, Lady Warspite." The Knight heard the maid's voice in her head.

"No, it's not your fault, Belfast. If her Majesty hadn't mentioned him so openly in the first place, this wouldn't have happened." Warspite sighed.

She respected Elizabeth, as a leader and as a Queen. However, sometimes she wished she was a bit less effusive. Now, in addition to having to think on the way to convince Fujimaru to join them, they also had to protect him from the military. All these while they still were unable to act freely or leave the laboratories.

"…."

Or do they?

Perhaps there was a way to turn these two problems into a solution?

"Wait for a bit, Belfast; I have something to talk with her Majesty." Warspite closed the mental link and approached Elizabeth, who was peacefully drinking her tea on the other side of the table.

She began to whisper to her ear.

"Your Majesty, I thought about something. Maybe we could use this as an opportunity."

"Oh?" Elizabeth quietly left her cup on the table.

"We could offer Ritsuka protection from the military, as long as he decides to join us as a Commander, that way we-"

"But, of course, Warspite, that was my intent all along." Elizabeth puffed out her chest as if she was proud of herself.

"Eh?"

"As expected of my knight, you even thought the same plan as me."

"…" For some reason, Warspite didn't believe she had planned that far ahead.

"Naturally, we should show Ritsuka how this fake government acts; that way, he would see the truth, and came to me, the real Queen!"

"Hmmm…yes, I suppose." Warspite decided to save her comments and just agreed. "Then, should Belfast tell him that?"

"Not yet."

"Not…yet?"

"He has to experience it, the injustice of being unjustly imprisoned." Elizabeth's tone suddenly turned serious. "That's the only way he would understand us."

"…"

Warspite would be lying if she said she wasn't worried about Her Majesty. She also didn't like being incapable of leaving, she shouldn't be imprisoned here; she should be in the frontlines, fighting the enemies of the Royal Navy.

However, the confinement seemed to be affecting Her Majesty differently, even though she retained her cheerfulness for the most part, there were times that she didn't recognize her.

"Ah, and Warspite."

"Y-yes, your Majesty?" She was so deep in those thoughts that her voice surprised her.

"Tell Belfast that if the Commander tries to stop her, she has my permission to remove her." She retook her cup in hand. "There is no need for two Commanders in the same fleet, after all."

"…Yes, your Majesty."

* * *

"It's time." Marcia said as she arrived at the room where Ritsuka Fujimaru was being held.

The man in question was sitting on the prison bed, with the same expression of detachment as before. However, this time his eyes were focused on the person that was acting as his guard.

In the same way, Belfast was fiercely looking at him, to the point that the Commander was unsure if she should get between those two.

"Did he try anything?" The Commander approached and asked Belfast in a low tone, as if not to disturb her.

"No, Commander, he had been silent the entire time." Answered the maid, her eyes didn't leave Ritsuka for even a second.

"Good, everything is ready." Marcia put a pair of handcuffs on Belfast's hands. "Put these on him, we are going to move him to a more proper location."

"Understood." The maid finally broke eye contact and went to open the cell.

"This doesn't have to be like this." Marcia finally spoke to the prisoner. "The deal I offered still stands, Fujimaru."

"Give me back my shield, and get me out of this hellhole." He answered in a serious tone. "Then, I may consider your offer."

"You know I can't do that."

"Then, my answer is still the same."

Marcia sighed.

"A shame."The conversation was over. "Hold him tight, Belfast. You have my permission to use force in case he tries anything."

"Yes, Commander."

* * *

It was already late at night when the Commander and her prisoner left the police department. An armored truck, accompanied by a couple of police officers, was waiting outside.

"Are you sure you don't want escorts, Commander Haydes?" One of the officers asked Marcia. "We could arrange at least a few patrols to follow you."

"No, it's fine. We'll take care of him from now on." She reassured him. "Thanks for the help, officer."

"Anytime." The man didn't say it, but he was secretly happy that such a criminal was finally leaving his department.

At that moment, that man walked past him. He followed his downcast figure with his eyes; his arms and legs were chained together, and near behind him was the woman of the silver hair.

He didn't exactly know what he had done. Still, it must have been something serious if the military was so desperately trying to catch him while maintaining the most secrecy possible at the same time.

Yes, he knew that they were hiding something. Denying someone the right to a lawyer or even a simple phone call was not a very common practice, and frankly, it didn't sit right with him. However, he also knew that some things were better left alone, as he didn't want to deal with military affairs more than he should.

As for the man itself, the "terrorist," he hadn't had the chance to speak with him, but he did notice something about him. From a distance, he looked no different from your everyday man, but that impression radically changed when they took him to the cell after the interrogatory.

The man was screaming like a madman, repeating "you don't deserve it, you don't deserve it." over and over again, to the point that he wouldn't look out of place in a mental hospital. But what caught the officer's attention wasn't that. Instead, it was his eyes; those eyes were the ones of someone who had completely lost it.

It was not a mad gaze per se; it was more like a gaze of someone who wasn't seeing the same reality as the rest of people.

Someone who was convinced he was the one in the right.

If he had to be honest, that man unnerved him. He really hoped that he would never have to deal with someone like that again.

The last he saw of the man was him silently getting into the back of the armored truck, his figure disappearing as the doors were closed.

* * *

The trip was silent, as no one in the back of the truck dared to speak a single word; you could almost feel the tension in the air.

I was chained to my seat, both my arms and legs were held together with a steel chain. Apart from Belfast, who was sat opposite of me, there were four armed soldiers, two sitting at my sides and two next to Belfast; I wondered what purpose they served there, though. Were they another precaution in case Belfast couldn't stop me? The commander should know that if the maid couldn't, none of them could.

Perhaps it was just to keep appearances.

My eyes went to the aforementioned maid; her expression remained as neutral as usual. Even though she was basically betraying her current commander, she could easily pretend as if nothing had changed.

"…"

She really had a talent for deceiving people, and I knew that first hand. That's why I had to be especially careful around her. I should act as how I was expected me to; as a leader…as a Master.

Not that It would be the first time; I had to deal with a few Servants of dubious loyalty in Chaldea before. I still clearly remembered those times when Mephistopheles showed up in my room at 4 AM, screaming how much his scissors shined in the dark or that other time I was cuddling with Jack, and she suddenly began to describe how warm it must feel to cut me apart and enter inside my abdomen.

So yes, I should have enough experience to maintain the façade long enough to meet that "Queen." After that, I wasn't sure what I would do. Ideally, I would be able to convince her.

Otherwise…it will be the same as with Goetia.

At that precise moment, Belfast suddenly winked at me.

That was the signal. It was time.

I looked around the place and spoke for the first time in a long while.

"I know you are just doing your jobs," I said to the four men. "So, if you don't resist, I promise it's not going to hurt that much."

I didn't wait for an answer and started reciting my aria of reinforcement.

* * *

Marcia was deep in thought while she drove the armored truck.

What would she do once they arrive at the safe house? She still hadn't gotten any information from Ritsuka, and it didn't seem he would be cooperating any time soon.

Maybe it was time to finally tell the Admiral about Ritsuka's existence.

Even if she had failed to gather any useful information, she still had the "shield." They couldn't move it to the base, yes, but the fact that it was made with a technology that possibly rivaled those of the Sirens was already something.

They only need just more time to…

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as one of the men who were guarding Ritsuka spoke up through the small barred window that connected the driver's seat to the back of the truck.

"Commander! The prisoner is talking in a strange language! Should we-"

Marcia couldn't answer, as she no longer heard her subordinate; because what appeared in front of her took her breath away.

She immediately hit the brakes, and the armored truck stopped in its tracks.

"Commander!? What's wrong!?"

The road was silent. No other vehicle could be heard in the distance. The dim light of the lamps showed a woman standing on the path of the truck. Her distinct black and white maid uniform could have been missed in the darkness of the night. What couldn't possibly be missed was the unsympathetic gaze of her only visible eye; the bright amber iris seemed to shine in the dark.

"She…ffield?" Was the only thing Marcia could mutter before the maid made her move. With inhuman speed, she approached the armored truck, her right fist raised.

And she hit it. With her bare hands, she hit the truck with enough force to crush a military tank.

* * *

I finished my aria, and I braced myself for the impact. Not a single second after the glowing green lines appeared on my arms, the armored truck was struck; the force sent the unknowing guards reeling towards the end of the truck.

I would have met the same fate if it wasn't for Belfast. A second before the truck was hit; she was already beside me, her strong arm held me safely on the place.

At that moment, we were close. Our eyes locked at each other, her face a few centimeters away from mine, the quiet sound of her breathing.

Maybe because we were like that, face to face, that I noticed something.

Her heartbeat, I could feel it through her arm…it was more accelerated than I expected. Could it be that she was actually nervous? Knowing her, I thought she could keep that calm demeanor in any kind of situation.

Also, it might have been just my imagination, but I could swear her arm was trembling a little.

We stayed like that for a maybe a minute, until she moved her gaze towards the fallen guards. Two of them, the ones that were closer to the end side, were unconscious, the others appeared to just be stunned and were starting to regain their sense.

We didn't let them.

I quickly broke the chains that were holding my arms, and with a swift move, I shot a gandr toward one of the guards. The black energy sphere hit him on the forehead, knocking him out cold. The other one didn't fare any better; as soon as I moved my hand to also shoot at him, Belfast had already deal with him.

"Good work." I said to the maid, as I broke the chains on my feet.

"I should be able to do this much, Master." She answered as if it was the most natural thing while extending her hand toward me.

I chuckled at the gesture.

"I would be a bit disappointed if you couldn't." I took her hand and stood up. "Let's get out of here, shall we?"

"As you wish." She said, and with a powerful hit, she broke the truck door. We jumped outside the vehicle to find Sheffield, carrying a human body like it was a suitcase.

"Former Commander Marcia Haydes." She immediately threw her unconscious body beside our feet. "What shall we do with her, Master?" She said that last word with a slight tone of annoyance.

"You know, you don't have to call me that if you don't want, Sheffield."

"What shall we do with her, pathetic excuse of a vertebrate life form?"

"...yeah, I prefer Master." I kneeled down beside Marcia and checked her pulse; she appeared to be a bit hurt, but her life didn't seem to be at risk. "Break her phone, and any kind of communication item, like with the rest of them." I ordered.

Sheffield being Sheffield, however, gave me her classic disapproving look.

"What? If you want something to say, just say it." I stood up.

"She is one of the enemy leaders. Losing her would throw the rest of them into disarray."

"And?" I gave Sheffield a fierce look. "What do you propose, Sheffield?"

"I am sure you know what I am talking about, pest." Sheffield looked back at me, defiant.

"Master, Sheffield, we don't have time for this now." Before a fight could start, Belfast interceded. "People will surely arrive soon."

"Right." I continued talking to Sheffield. "I obviously know what you are talking about, Sheffield. And we'll do just that."

"Eh?" Belfast seemed to be surprised by my decision, a sudden look of worry appeared on her face.

I didn't miss that.

"We'll take her hostage; she could serve as a good bargain chip in case things go south." I turned to the other maid. "Belfast, can you carry her?"

"Ah…yes, Master." Belfast seemed to remember that she was the head maid, and went back to serious mode.

"You don't have the guts to kill her." Sheffield whispered on my ear while the other maid approached Marcia's fallen body.

"Neither do you." I whispered back. "Or do you think I believe that was your strongest hit? If you wanted to kill her, you could have easily crushed her to death just now."

Sheffield immediately lowered her head.

"I am just a lowly maid; I have to follow my Master's orders." She raised it again to look at me directly in the eyes. "Even if that's Master is you, pest."

"Is that so…?" I did tell her through Belfast to not kill anyone if she could help it. It seems she was following my orders. "That obedience it's not quite like you, Sheffield."

"I said it before, and I repeat it now." She spoke seriously. "I will follow your orders, no matter how wrong I believe they are."

"…"

I sighed.

That's a dangerous mindset, but one that benefited me.

"I am not asking for much; just don't kill anyone, alright?"

"Don't worry; the only one I want to kill right now is you, my dear Master."

"…good to know that we get along so well." I patted her in the back as if we were the best friends ever. "But as Belfast said, we don't have time for time this. Let's continue once we aren't on the road full of knocked-out soldiers, shall we?."

I walked towards the unconscious soldiers and started looking for any kind of communication device.

* * *

After getting rid of their mobiles and breaking their guns, we were ready to leave the place.

"Are you sure you don't need help, Master? Sheffield should be able to carry you with ease." Belfast asked, with Marcia on top of her shoulder.

"Trust me, I'll be fine by myself." I prepared to reinforce my legs. "Also, I have the impression Sheffield may "accidentally" drop me at some point."

"I would never such a thing, Master." She said that, but she was smiling.

Wait, she was smiling?

I looked at her, surprised for a couple of seconds until that smile of hers disappeared.

"What?"

"Nothing." I tried to ignore that and focused on my reinforcement. I closed my eyes and began to feel the od going through my entire body. While focusing on my legs, my magic circuits activated.

I opened my eyes to see the glowing green lines going from my hips to my feet.

"I still don't understand how you do that." Commented Sheffield, as she approached to see more closely.

However, I quickly stepped back, with a powerful stride thanks to the reinforcement.

"I'll tell you one day, but not now." I turned back. "Let's go!"

Not waiting for an answer, I sprinted for a bit and jumped, my jump easily reaching a couple of meters in the air, and landed on the rooftop of a small building. Not a single second after I landed, the maids were already there too.

"You are not as fast as you think, my dear Master." Said Sheffield, and continued her way jumping between buildings.

"Well, isn't she competitive?" I said to the other maid.

"She isn't usually like this; I think she only likes to compete with you, Master."

"Hah, that's a not fair competition by any means." As I said that, I began to follow Sheffield, with Belfast close behind.

* * *

"Understood, I'll tell her Majesty immediately." Warspite cut the mental link. "Your Majesty, Belfast and Sheffield had successfully released Ritsuka from their captors."

"Excellent." Elizabeth took her scepter with her and began to walk away from her room. "Come with me, Warspite."

"Ah…yes." She started to walk behind her. "Where are we going, Your Majesty? It's time to finally leave this place?"

"Not yet, my friend. In fact, we are doing the opposite."

"Eh?"

"The new commander will arrive soon, so it's time to prepare this base for his arrival." She started looking around the place as she walked. "It's so dark and gloomy, a far cry of what a proper Royal Navy base should be like, but maybe with a bit of paint here and there…"

"Hey." A soldier approached the two shipgirls, not a minute after they had left the room. "The Commander ordered not letting you roam around the base, return to your room."

"Don't bother her Maje-" Warspite once again wanted to serve her role as the Queen's personal knight, but Elizabeth walked towards the man.

"Perfect Timing." Elizabeth completely ignored what the man had said. "We need to find someone, a soldier that normally has rounds around here. I didn't get his name last time, but he has brown hair and should be around this tall." Elizabeth raised her arm and made a gesture of his approximate height.

"Johnson? He asked to be reassigned yesterday…wait, why am I telling you this? I said that you must return to your room now." The man's voice turned serious.

"So his name is Johnson, huh? And where could he be?"

"I said that you must-" The man tried to grab the shipgirl by the shoulder.

"Stop right there!"

But his hand was stopped by a mysterious force.

"Do you think you can lay your hand on the Queen as you please!?" Elizabeth shouted in a commanding tone and hit her scepter on the floor. "Know your place!"

The man seemed to have frozen in time, his arm still extended as if he was trying to grab her, but his expression showing deep fright.

Elizabeth smiled.

"Let's go Warspite, we'll find Johnson by ourselves." Elizabeth walked away, followed by a confused Warspite.

"I am sorry, you Majesty, but I have to ask…what is going on?"

"No need to worry, my knight." She reassured her. "Everything will become clear once we find Johnson."

* * *

"I say it now, don't try it. You will fail miserably."

"Come on, Richard, don't you have at least some faith in me?"

"Not in the slightest." Reaffirmed the soldier, while he took a look around the apartment, trying his best to ignore his colleague's antics. "I saw like ten people trying to lift it at the same time, and it didn't even budge, you are just losing your time, dude."

"That only means they weren't the chosen one." The other soldier commented with strange enthusiasm.

"What?" Richard could only stare at him.

"It's the same as with Excalibur, only the one capable of ruling Britain could remove it from the stone." The man crouched beside the shield. "Don't you think it's the same here, but with a shield instead of a sword?"

"…wait, that's the sword in the stone, not Excalibur."

"Same thing, you know what I mean." The other soldier put his hands around it. "I wonder, will I be worthy or not?"

The other man released an exasperated sigh; he only hoped no one would know that they were messing with what the Commander described as "an important piece of unknown technology."

Although, pretty much everyone, including the Commander herself, had tried to lift it, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to let one more person made a fool of himself. If anything happened, he only had to shift the blame on him, after all.

The soldier firmly held the shield with both hands and tried to lift it. He didn't put too much force at first, but once he realized the shield wasn't moving, he decided to put all his strength on the task.

However, as Richard had said, it was useless; the shield remained motionless on the floor.

"Arrrgh." The man stepped back, his arms hurt. "It's like it's glued to the floor!"

"Told you so." Richard wasn't surprised. "That thing must weight a ton. I have no idea how that guy supposedly wields it."

"Huh, maybe there is a hidden button to make it lighter or something." The man started touching around the shield again.

"A button? Hah." He laughed. "And where did that "chosen" crap go to?"

"Come on, it was a joke. No way things like magic swords or shields exist."

"They do, though." A new voice resounded in the room, one that they haven't heard before.

Both men immediately looked at the source of the voice, and they found a man by the door. He appeared to be in his late twenties, he had short black hair, and his face was a bit of obscured by a 3-days beard, his navy blue eyes fiercely gazed at them.

There was a minute of silence before any of them could respond.

"W-who…who are you!? How did you get past the-" Richard tried to approach the man, but he immediately stopped upon seeing what was behind him.

The door of the apartment was wide open, revealing the bodies of the men guarding the place, they laid on the floor motionless.

"You bastard!" Richard tried to take his gun, but before he realized, the man was just centimeters in front of him.

"I can't let you do that." Was all he said before hitting him on the chest with the palm of his arm.

He was sent flying towards one of the walls, the air in his lungs leaving his body in mere seconds.

"Richard!" shouted the other man, as he drew his pistol and pointed towards the man. "Freeze, now!"

"Sheffield."

"…!?" The man suddenly fell a presence behind him, but it was only for a moment, he couldn't react as someone dressed in a maid uniform had hit him from behind, knocking him instantly.

Richard observed the situation with helplessness. Who was that man? How could he take on a trained soldier with just one punch? And most importantly…why was the missing prototype with him, and why did it seem to follow his orders?

The strange man walked toward the shield, and he couldn't believe what happened next.

He reached out to the shield, and with a single hand, he lifted it.

"I am back, sorry for leaving you here, Mashu." The man talked with the shield as if it were a living being."I promise it won't happen again."

Then, his gaze turned toward him and slowly approached.

Richard tried to get away, but his chest hurt like hell. Were his ribs broken?

"Believe me; I don't like any of this." The man said, with a tone of resignation. "But life isn't fair for anyone, not me, not you."

After saying that, he hit Richard with the side of the shield.

And everything turned black.

* * *

After some time, Elizabeth found the person she was looking for. Johnson was doing his rounds in a different part of the base, one that was actually quite far from the Queen's quarters.

Upon seeing the two shipgirls, an expression of nervousness appeared on his face.

"W-what are you two doing here…?" He stuttered like he was afraid of them.

Elizabeth smiled.

"Fear not, oh cherished citizen! Because I, the Queen, know what disturbs your dreams!" Elizabeth started to approach the man.

"Don't get close!" The man stepped back until he was stopped by a wall.

"Since that day, the day we talked, you have been feeling unwell, am I right?"

"I said don't get close!" He took his gun and pointed it towards Elizabeth.

"Your Majesty!" Warspite was ready to take her sword, but her Queen stopped her with a gesture of her hand.

"You feel, deep inside you, that something is terribly wrong." She continued approaching him. "But no matter how much you try, you can't pinpoint the reason."

The man shot at Elizabeth. However, his hands were shaking so much that he missed.

"I can tell you, I can tell you what torments you."

Elizabeth was so close to him; that he wouldn't have failed if he had fired again. But he couldn't, he no longer could pull the trigger.

The pistol fell off his hands, and he too, fell on his knees, feeling weakened.

Elizabeth put a hand on his shoulder, at that position; she was taller than him despite her small height.

"You realized the truth. You are the first one in this base to finally be able to see the truth."

The man raised his head and looked up towards Elizabeth.

"Search in your heart, you know what the truth I am speaking of is."

"I..I…" He doubted at first but finally reached an answer. "I don't know...why I took me so long to understand."

The man lowered his head until his forehead was touching the cold floor.

"You…you are the true monarch of this country…you are…my Queen….our Queen."

"I am!" Elizabeth shouted with pride. "And I won't rest until every person in this country recognizes as such! Will you help me in my quest to reclaim the throne!?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Johnson shouted, his voice full of loyalty.

"That's what I wanted to hear! You can raise your head, soldier Johnson, we have a lot to do in this base!" He turned around and walked toward Warspite. "Did you see that, Warspite? My charisma finally went through him! With this, we'll be able to return to the position we have been robbed, we'll stand as the leaders of this country once again!"

Having said that, she walked away, followed by the now loyal Johnson.

Warspite was stunned.

She was sure that wasn't how charisma worked.

**END OF CHAPTER 10**

* * *

**AN: **Chapter 10 is here.

I know, this chapter is a bit shorter than usual. I wanted to post it like a week ago, but things got busy and when I finally had it finished, my proofreader was full of college assignments so he couldn't make it in time until yesterday.

Anyway, I like to think that this chapter was a bit more action-packed than the previous one, hopefully, you all get the feeling that things are finally happening and plot is moving. This chapter also had a lot of different POVs, so I hope it's not too convoluted.

So, that's it, see you all in the next chapter.


	11. Chapter 11: The False Knight

**AN: **This is a re-upload of chapter 11, originally posted on 10/31/20 but almost no one could read it since the site was dying. I apologize for the spam if you already read it, otherwise, enjoy the chapter.

**Chapter 11: The False Knight**

I suddenly heard a familiar sound coming from my bedroom.

I didn't need to check, I was sure it was my mobile; apparently, I had left it on my nightstand the night before and forgot to bring it with me when the police came. The dull ringtone I had chosen a few years ago informed me that I got a message.

As I took the phone in my hand, I could see a few words appearing on the phone block screen.

15 message, all from the same person: Arthur, my….friend? Were we friends? Let's settle with colleagues. They were sent at different times, however.

The first ten or so were sent on Friday night, and by the language and grammatical errors, I could assume Arthur wasn't in his most sober state when he sent them.

A couple more were sent on Saturday morning, commenting how much his head hurt and asking me how I had dealt with the hangover.

The last one was sent just a minute ago, and it was just a "hey man, u okay?"

Well, wasn't he nice?

A bit too nice in fact, to the point I kind of regretted what I was about to do.

"Is something wrong, Master?" Belfast, appearing by the door, asked, maybe seeing my conflicted face or perhaps because I had just left the living room without a word.

"Not really, just making sure that I don't lose my job."

"…?"

I was probably going to disappear for a couple of days, maybe more, so I needed an excuse for my absence, and I was going to use Arthur for that.

Thus I quickly invented a story about someone breaking into my apartment (a thing that actually happened) and that I was now dealing with police and legal matters (something that was also partially true) and sent it to Arthur. Ideally, I would have liked to speak with the director personally. Still, it was a bit too late for that, so hopefully, this would be enough to explain my absence in the following days.

"Master, forgive me if this question troubles you, but….Do you really think you'll be able to return to your normal life after this?" The maid's tone was serious.

That question surprised me for a bit, but I understood what she meant.

She was asking if I had what it takes to take my position seriously. I was now a "Commander" after all; of course, she would worry if she sees me thinking about the past instead of my responsibilities as a leader.

"I like to think that I would at some point." I answered as honestly as possible. "Even if it wasn't really my calling at first, teaching kind of grew on me."

"Master….even if we manage to successfully reinstate Her Majesty on the throne, the Siren threat will still exist." Her tone had a certain degree of pessimism."We still don't know their real objectives, and we have failed to gain a concise victory against their forces so far…it pains me to say it, but it's most likely that the impending war won't end anytime soon."

Yes, I was aware of that. Something inside me told me that this wouldn't end so quickly.

It was never that easy.

"Don't worry, I know what I have to do, Belfast. You can trust that I will put my all in fulfilling my duty."

That being, stopping your Queen before she does anything crazy. As for the Sirens…I would burn that bridge after I crossed it.

"I wasn't trying to imply otherwise." She made a reverence. "Forgive me if it came off that way, Master."

"…"

It had come to my attention that Belfast apologized a lot. Hard to imagine that this woman was the same that jokingly teased me when we first met.

And speaking of apologies…

"Tell me, Belfast; was the Queen's order for you to act flirtatious when we first meet?"

Her eyes opened a bit in confusion at the sudden change of topic.

"N-no, she just ordered me to approach you and invite you to the Royal Navy. I was the one who decided to act that way."

"I see. And can I ask why do you decide to do that?"

"I…" It seemed like she didn't want to answer but continued regardless. "I thought it would be easier to judge your character that way."

"Heh, is that so?" I chuckled. "Did I give you the impression to be an easily swindled person?"

"I am really so-"

"It's fine. Looking back, I think I overreacted a bit." I recognized. "I was on edge, and it was easy to shift the blame on you. I should be the one apologizing for my behavior."

"No, I did present myself as someone I wasn't to try to get your sympathy Master, I am indeed at fault."

I couldn't deny that my pride was a bit hurt that day, maybe because I haven't dated anyone in…a long time. The thought of someone interested in me was….no, it was not the time for such silly ideas.

Instead, I had to think carefully about my options and the possibility that Elizabeth wouldn't cooperate willingly.

"Think we can start over again?"

"Eh?"

I needed all the allies I could get.

"It might have been your fault, or maybe it was mine. That doesn't change the fact that we are on the same side now." I extended my arm to her. "So, what do you think if we leave all that behind and start over again?"

She once again went silent and looked at my extended arm with a conflicted expression. Then, her eyes moved to her own hand.

"I…would like that, Master." She finally took my hand in a firm handshake, a fact that reminded me how stronger than me she was.

I smiled.

"Once again, my name is Fujimaru Ritsuka. Nice to meet you."

"And once again, I am Belfast, the maid." A small smile also appeared on her face. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

I couldn't see her betraying her Queen, but if things went in my favor, it wouldn't be a "betrayal," it would be…

"I really commend your ability to socialize, my Master. However, I think it's not the time or place to give up to your basic instincts." The other maid voice came from outside the room; she looked at us with a deadpanned expression.

We quickly separated, a bit startled by Sheffield's sudden appearance.

"Sheffield? Since when were you there?" Belfast asked.

"Since both of you started flirting without a care in the world."

"Who was flirting? Also, eavesdropping is bad, Sheffield."

"I was just making sure that you don't use your newly gained authority for perverse means, my pest of a master. Also, I came to inform you that the humans are tied up, so we are free to leave whenever you see fit."

"Did you make sure that they won't be able to scream once they wake up?" I tried to ignore that comment of hers.

"Any more tape on their mouths would suffocate them, or is that what you want, Master?"

"No, I'll believe your word." I turned back to Belfast. "Take Marcia with you. We are leaving in five minutes."

"Understood." Belfast agreed in the most businessmen way possible and exited the room.

"You'll be leading the way to the laboratories, Sheffield."

"You won't win her with pretty words, Master."

I was about to prepare myself when I heard that comment from the serious maid.

"I am not sure what you mean."

"You like her, right?"

"…what?"

"I mean, you are sexually attracted to-"

"Wait." I made her stop. "I understood the first time; you don't need to word it differently."

"So you don't deny it."

"…" I wanted to say something to deny that claim, but I couldn't. "And what if I do? It's none of your business, Sheffield."

I am not a teenager anymore; I can like someone and be completely fine with it, not going to lose sleep over that.

"Sadly, it is, Master, since you don't make any effort on hiding it." She gave me a look as if I were the worst person in existence. "Frankly, it's distracting and disgusting."

"What are you talking about…?" I was about to say something, but an idea popped into my head. "Could it be that you are actually jealo-"I couldn't finish, as I had the barrel of a pistol in my forehead.

"That's an interesting statement. Care to continue?"

"It's obviously a joke. You don't have to the point that thing at me."

"You are certainly quite the jester, my dear master. Don't you think "buffoon" would be a more proper role for you than Commander?"

"That would be hard. My jokes only work on you."

"Regrettably, I am not laughing."

"You seem to enjoy my company, though."

"The fact that you keep deluding yourself is worrying." She said with a straight face.

I chuckled, and I started to wonder when getting a gun on my head had become my idea of amusement.

"Hey, I made up with Belfast already, so maybe we can also-?"

"No." Instant rejection.

"…Alright, not going to force you to get along with me." I didn't want to push the situation too much. Besides, I was sure I had fewer chances of convincing Sheffield than Belfast. "But I did mean what I said before; I don't care what happened between us in the past. I consider you my companion now, Sheffield."

"…!"

"Who knows, maybe with time, we can be friend-?"

"How did you do that?" She interrupted me.

I noticed how her arm twitched a bit, and the barrel of her gun moved a bit on my forehead. At the same time, a somewhat surprised expression appeared on her face.

"Huh? Did what? "

"What are you doing to me?" She asked, her tone suddenly gained a certain edge; she even pressed the barrel of her gun more strongly. "Is this also part of those abilities you have?"

"Sheffield?" I was dumbfounded.

"You have to stop, even if you are my Master now, I won't allow you to keep-"

"Sheffield." Belfast was back in the room. "It isn't good manners to put a pistol in your Master's forehead, don't you think so?"

Sheffield eyed the other maid, and wordlessly lowered her gun.

"Let's go we have to arrive before the sun appears on the horizon." She directed me a final look of distrust before abandoning the room.

I wondered, however, what had I done to get on her bad side this time.

* * *

I told the maids to go ahead, and I remained at the apartment for a couple of minutes.

I didn't have much time.

I quickly grabbed my briefcase, the one I always took with me to the classes and opened it.

"Here they are."

I took a small pencil case, folded a couple of paper sheets, and put them both in my pocket.

I didn't have time to try it at the moment, they would surely suspect something if I took too long to go. I would have to find time to do it at another moment.

Hopefully, I wasn't actually as rusted as I felt.

* * *

The man marked the phone number one last time, but the answer was still the same.

"The number you are trying to reach had been disconnected or is outside the-"

The phone was closed with force before the recording could end.

"Have you been able to get in touch with the laboratories?" The Admiral asked one of his subordinates, the man in question was one of many soldiers, sat around a giant machine that appears to be some kind of communication device.

"No, sir. They still haven't responded to our callings, not from the normal channel or the encrypted one.

"So, they have fallen already." He got up from his chair. "Call O'Dyne, tell him to get the new prototypes ready for combat. Also, warn the higher-ups, we are closing all the entries to the labs."

"Sir…? But Commander Marcia said twenty-four hours, she may be still…."

"She is dead, soldier. And we are going to follow her steps if we don't put an end to this madness once for all." The admiral declared, there wasn't a trace of doubt in his voice. "And hear me, we won't stand idle as a pair of defective weapons decide to rebel; we'll protect our country." His face contorted in one of contained anger. "Even if we have to use those."

"...Yes, sir."

* * *

"I see, so this is where this "subterranean" laboratory was."

It felt weird when Sheffield guided us inside the subway station, but it made sense. They couldn't just build an extensive underground base from scratch; the underground tunnels must have helped them build it, or maybe they repurposed a vacant area.

Whatever the case was, after walking on the rails for some time, and crossing a really stretch section between two walls, we arrived at a heavy metallic door, with a yellow and black sign that said "Authorized personal only."

Sheffield then approached the door, but it opened before she could touch it.

Behind the door was yet another maid. Aside from the now normal maid uniform, she was also wearing glasses, covering a pair of light blue eyes. Her stature was shorter than Belfast, but she had the same long silver air falling on her shoulder.

"Bel, Sheffield, welcome back." The maid made a reverence towards my companions.

"Thank you for receiving us, sister." Said Belfast. "I hope everything went well in our absence."

…? Did she say sister?

After looking a bit more carefully at the new maid, I noticed that she did resemble Belfast a bit. How curious to think that she had a little sister.

"As well as possible." She commented, a bit pessimistic. "I keep trying to serve her Majesty, but Warspite keeps getting in the way! I know they are close, but as a maid, I should be the one to…" The maid's sight finally fell on me; apparently, she had failed to notice my presence until now. "Huh, what is a human doing here…? Ah! Is this one of the new recruits?"

New recruits?

"Actually, he is…" Belfast tried to explain, but the new maid approached me before she could finish.

"Hmmm, let's see..." She tided her glasses and started inspecting me from head to toe."Huh, not bad, not bad, a bit on the weak side but beggars can't be choosers."

"Huh…excuse me?"

She put a hand on my shoulder, looking smug even though I was taller than her.

"But don't worry, we'll find something for you to do. Even if you can't fight directly, there are always jobs like mopping the floor or cleaning the bathrooms available. I am sure you can find something to be of use to Her Majesty!"

I looked at the other maids in confusion, only to see Belfast's troubled smile and well as Sheffield's tired stare.

Ah, I see

"So, you are going to teach me how to server Her Majesty?" I decided to play along.

"But of course!" Her eyes were shining for some reason."I, Edinburgh, will help you in all you need newbie! Who knows; maybe with a lot of hard work, I might allow you to take care of my du-to help me with my work!" She quickly corrected herself.

"I see, I thank you for the offer, but I don't think I will have time too much time to mop the floor while working as a Commander."

"Ah?" Edinburgh's face suddenly went stiff. "Commander? What are you talking about-?" She turned around only to see Belfast's smile.

"Sister, let me introduce you to the new Commander, Ritsuka Fujimaru."

"Co-co-commander?" Edinburg slowly turned towards me again; her face was now devoid of color.

" Hmm, yes, that should be me."

"Co-commander! Or is it Master!? Ehh…ahh…" She seemed to be at lots of words. "Master Commander! I am so sorry for my behavior! I thought you would be more…no, no what I am saying!? It's not like I am criticizing your looks! I think you are perfect as you are!"

"It's okay, calm down. I am not angry." I tried to reassure her. "As Belfast said, I am the Ritsuka Fujimaru. Edinburg, was it? Nice to meet you." I offered her a handshake.

Seeing that I genuinely wasn't angry, Edinburgh's face beamed again.

"Y-yes! Nice to meet you, Master Commander!" She took my hand with both hands and rapidly shook it. "Her Majesty had been waiting for you; I am sure she will be happy to finally receive you at last!"

I smiled. The feeling was mutual. I couldn't wait to meet this "Queen."

My actions after meeting her, would depend on the type of person she was.

* * *

We went downstairs once, and the scenery changed a bit.

The dark corridors around us were now more adequately illuminated, and I could see some walls displaying more warning signs like "Restricted Area" or "Use of deadly force is authorized against trespassers."

"They really wanted to keep people away from this place, huh."

"Marcia told us that this facility was in use before serving as a base for us; she never told me what they were doing, however," Belfast informed me.

"Well, maybe we can ask her once she wakes up." I looked at the woman in Belfast's shoulder; she was still out of the cold.

I really needed to think what to with her, or if she was at risk being here, we weren't on the best terms, but I didn't want anything too wrong happening to her.

We walked some more, and at some point, the tunnel separated into two. On my right, I could see a long corridor with a large number of doors. There were also a few standard things like air conditioners on the walls and a few water dispensers. In other words, that side of the tunnels started looking a bit more like a place where people could actually stay decently comfortable.

"Those are the soldiers' barracks." Edinburgh noticed my gaze. "Her Majesty's room is this way." She continued to the left tunnel.

"…"

She said, the "barracks", implying that people lived here as I had suspected. However, I had yet to see another human being in this base.

Strange.

* * *

We finally arrived at our destination, the "throne room," so to speak, even though it looked no different from any other room, at least from the outside.

Belfast went to lock Marcia in another room, and Edinburg entered first to announce my arrival to the Queen, so it was just me and Sheffield waiting by the door.

"Anything I should know before I meet her?"

"Kneel down when I do, and let her do the talking; you only need to answer when spoken." Sheffield eyed me cautiously. "And remember, you are before her Majesty, the Queen, so don't do anything weird."

"Now I kind of want to do the opposite just to mess with you."

Sheffield gave me a judging stare that said, "don't mess up, you idiot."

I chuckled.

"Commander, you may come in." I heard Edinburgh's voice from behind the door.

"Ready?" Asked the serious maid while putting her hands on the knob.

"Ready."

She opened the door, and as I suspected, there was no enormous throne room, long red carpet, or fanfare of any kind. It was just an average room with some furniture; it was tidier than expected, considering it was underground.

Then I saw her.

If I had to be honest, I had formed a mental image of what this "Queen" looked like in my head. I imagined an adult woman, older than me but with a strong presence, someone who could be able to shut everyone up in a room with just a fierce stare. Someone decided, with clear convictions of what was right and wrong.

Actually, was I thinking about Artoria?

I didn't know, but I positively wasn't thinking about this.

"I, Queen Elizabeth, the first, welcome you to the Royal Navy headquarters, Ritsuka Fujimaru!" The blonde girl loudly stated, with a commanding tone.

Yes, "girl" was the right word, as she looked relatively young, indeed not older than the maids who served her with such devotion. This girl was seated in a big chair, a makeshift throne, and wore a dark blue dress with white motifs alongside white gloves and white knee socks. On her right arm was some kind of staff or scepter, and on her head rested a small red and golden crown.

If it was the first time looking at something like this, I would disregard someone like her as some girl trying too hard to look like a Queen. However, I had come to understand that appearance mattered little when it came to supernatural beings.

"Kneel before the Queen, human." Said another girl, who was by Elizabeth's side.

They looked alike, with blonde hair and youthful appearance; however, this girl actually exuded a particular aura. With her fierce gaze and a sword on both hands resting on the floor, I could tell that she was a warrior.

I was too busy staring at the two girls that I forgot I was supposed to show respect, a fact that became clear when I looked at the kneeling Sheffield, glaring daggers at me.

"I am Fujimaru Ritsuka." I quickly copied her, putting one knee on the floor while maintaining my posture with Lord Camelot. "I was told that your Majesty requested my presence, so here I am."

"Indeed, Fujimaru! It's a pleasure to finally meet the one that would be the Commander of my troops." Elizabeth sounded upbeat. "I have heard a lot about you."

"Hopefully good things."

"They are; having bested a Siren is not a small feat."

"…" I chose not to comment on that.

They kept blowing my confrontation with Purifier out of proportion; all I did was run and defend myself with Lord Camelot. I had no way of inflicting damage to her until she attacked Lord Camelot directly.

"And not only that, but you also fought your fellow humans and the corrupt government." Her voice adopted a severe tone after those words."You have passed for quite an ordeal before coming here."

"I only fought to protect my life, a life that someone important for me saved." Her smile appeared in my mind as I looked at Lord Camelot. "That's why; anyone who dares to disrupt that peaceful life I had built is my enemy."

And that includes the Royal Navy.

"You and I feel the same, Fujimaru." She stood up and began to approach me. "We were both unjustly deprived of our freedom, you have robbed your peaceful life, and my throne was occupied by a faker who calls herself Elizabeth II." She frowned with contained rage. "I think we both had enough of this affront."

"What do you plan on doing, you Majesty?"

"Naturally, I would recover the throne and expel those fakers."

"And when you do that." I tighten my grip in Lord Camelot. "When you finally are recognized as the Queen of the United Kingdom, what would you do with the people that supported the fake government, and with the rest of the common folk?"

"What would I do?" She looked into my eyes. "I would do my all to serve them as the Queen they deserve. I would guide them in the battle against the Siren to victory."

We stared at each other for a couple of seconds, her azure eyes meeting my own.

I only needed that look to tell: she was telling the truth.

If she had said something like, "I am going to enslave them." Or "I am going to put them in their place." I would have attacked her without hesitation. But she didn't, and she seemed to have good intentions, or at the very least, she did believe her own words.

However, that was not enough to gain my trust. I was deceived by one of her maids before; she would need more than a few words to convince me that her heart and actions were entirely unclouded.

"And to achieve that objective, I need you by my side, Fujimaru."

"I will put my all in leading the maids and fulfill my role as a Commander, Your Majesty."

"No, it's more than that." She corrected me. "I'll need you not only as a Commander but as my Knight."

"A Knight?" I asked with curiosity.

"We had a few human Commanders, and all of them failed in recognize my authority." She shook her head. "I don't want for that to happen again, Fujimaru. That's why I want you to be one of us; by accepting to be my knight, you'll be under my direct command, just like Warspite." She put a hand on my shoulder. "You'll become a part of the Royal Navy."

So, it was an even more prominent position of authority, with just a different title.

I didn't see a problem with that.

"Will you swear your loyalty to me, Fujimaru Ritsuka, so that we both can bring justice to those who wronged us?"

I had already accepted my position as Commander only to get close to her, and I have fulfilled that part of my plan. Now came the real challenge, gaining her trust.

Becoming her knight would be the perfect chance to do that.

"I swear…" I was about to accept, but my voice died in my throat for some reason.

I was supposed to say, "I swear to be loyal to you, my Queen." A lie, obviously, I would only accept to get close and gain her trust.

However, I couldn't say it.

"..."

It wasn't like I felt bad for lying. It was necessary for this situation. It was a different feeling, like a hunch….I felt like...something terrible would happen if I swore loyalty to her.

It was an irrational fear. Words were just that, words, and she wasn't a magical being who could bound me by a contract like one of Masters and Servants.

But that unrest didn't disappear.

"I swear I will serve your cause to the best of my ability." I avoided saying that I would serve her personally; hopefully, she wouldn't be bothered by the wording.

"Good, let's make it official, then." She turned around to look at the warrior girl. "Warspite, your sword."

Huh…?

"Are you sure about this, your Majesty?" She asked, as she took her sword by the grip and handed it to Elizabeth.

"Yes, I trust him." She looked at me again as she took the sword in both hands. "He is the same as me."

Wait, what was she doing…?

"By the power invested by my country and my lineage." She moved the sword first in front of her face and then above my right shoulder. "I hereby name you my-"

"No!" I shouted in a reflex.

Everyone in the room was stunned for a moment; even Sheffield looked at me, surprised. I, too, was surprised by my own reaction. The moment she touched me with the sword, I felt like I was losing something, that being her knight meant abandoning my will.

That's why I couldn't let her continue.

"No…?" Elizabeth looked at me with an expression of betrayal. "You don't want to…?"

"No…it's…it's the opposite….I am just not worthy of that title, my Queen."

"Eh?"

"I am…I am just a newcomer. To be named a Knight without any achievements under my belt would be a mistake."

"Are you questioning the will of your Queen!?"

"No, of course not. But I would die of shame if I achieve such a prestigious position without doing anything for my Queen."

I tried my best to sound convincing, but Elizabeth was having none of this.

"That doesn't matter! I want you as my Knight, and I…!"

"Your Majesty." Help came from an unexpected source. "I understand how he feels; he has yet to prove the bravery of a Knight."

"You too, Warspite!?"

"Put his might to the test; have him show that the stories about his exploits against the enemy aren't just mere happenstance. Only then, he will prove to be worthy of the title as a knight."

"But…but… I wanted him as my knight….!" Suddenly Elizabeth began to throw what I could only describe as a child tantrum. Long gone was the determined leader I had seen a moment ago.

"Y-your Majesty…" Warspite didn't know how to react, as she had tried to act severe, but her Queen's response was miles away from that.

"I-I think it's a great idea." I tried to intercede before the situation could become even more uncomfortable. "If you Majesty agrees, obviously."

"But…but…" Elizabeth seems to be torn between what she wanted and her own code. "Ah…alright! You'll be tested, Fujimaru. But when you are done with that, you'll become my personal knight at once!"

"Sure…it would be my pleasure, Your Majesty."

I could hear Warspite releasing a sigh of relief, indeed relieved that the situation has not gotten out of hand.

"Besides, it's not like I hadn't had a task for you on mind already." Even if she said that she still crossed her arms, looking a bit unsatisfied

"Oh? And what could that be?"

"That could wait for tomorrow. As I said before, you have passed an ordeal to come here, so it's only fair that I allow you a moment of respite." She turned to the maid. "Sheffield, guide Ritsuka to one of the rooms, the best one in the barracks."

"Yes, your Majesty." Sheffield turned to look at me, and for a split of a second, I could see wariness on her eyes. "Follow me, Master."

"With your permission." I bowed to the Queen one last time and abandoned the room.

* * *

Sheffield didn't say a single word after we left the "throne" room, and as we walked towards my assigned room.

I, too, didn't know what to say; I could guess I made her angry with that little stunt with the Queen.

Once we were in front of the room, she wordlessly put a key on my hand and began to leave.

"Hey." I talked before she could go."Are you mad?"

She stopped but didn't turn to look at me.

"You rejected her Majesty's offer."

I knew it.

"Sorry, I didn't know how to react. I was not ready for-"

"You don't feel loyalty towards the Queen, and I suspect you don't care if Her Majesty regains the throne or not. Even so, you still accepted the Commander position."

"…to be fair, you didn't leave me much of choice; I would be still locked in if I didn't follow you."

"Lies." She turned towards me."With the abilities you possess, it would have been easy to escape from prison. Yet, you decided to accept her Majesty's help."

Sharp.

"Where do you want to go with this, Sheffield?"

"I began to wonder, my dear master, what's your real objective with coming here?"

My real objective was to stop her Queen, but of course, I couldn't say that.

"I don't know what you are thinking, but I am just doing my part to end this war, Sheffield," I told her a half-truth. "What I said, Elizabeth was right; I only desire to return to my peaceful life once this is over, nothing more and nothing less.

She observed me for some time until she finally turned around.

"…I see, so it's like that."

And walked away, putting an end to the conversation.

"Sheffield?"

"Good Night, Master." She didn't stop this time.

* * *

He was hiding something. The maid was sure of it.

In the short time she had come to know him, Sheffield's opinion on the strange man had changed a lot, but her conclusion was the same every time.

At first, she saw him as an enemy, an ally of the Sirens, someone to be eliminated at once. In conclusion, he was dangerous.

Then, she saw him as a potential ally, wielding a mysterious power that no other human seemed to have, thus, being an unknown factor. In conclusion, he was dangerous.

And now, she saw him as her Master, the person she was supposed to serve with devotion. However, that same person wasn't loyal to the Queen, their leader, and their motives for helping them remained a mystery. In conclusion, he was dangerous.

No matter what position he was in, the fact that his existence remained as a threat to them was inexcusable; in normal circumstances, he would have removed him without hesitation.

But she couldn't, not only because Belfast and Her Majesty were convinced that Fujimaru could help them; she also couldn't do it, psychically.

Whenever she thought about ending his life or harming him, she began to feel weird. Her chest ached, his throat seemed to go dry, and she had difficulty trying to put her thoughts into words.

That unrest wasn't enough to hinder her standard capabilities. Still, it was enough to stop her from doing anything to him.

This discomfort…it had to be his doing. He had done something to her with those strange powers; he must have messed with her mind in some way, hindering her abilities to fight him.

Sheffield couldn't allow this to continue. She had to find a way to stop him, even if it means disobeying her Queen.

"…"

Maybe that was the worst part; the fact that she couldn't focus on her duties at all.

Her thoughts kept getting filled with his image.

* * *

"…"

Sadly, my new room wasn't something out of this world, which made sense since this was meant to be a soldier's room in a secret base, but…it bothered me a bit that it resembled the jail I was locked in a few hours ago.

At least it didn't have a toilet in the middle of the room, which was an improvement.

Anyway…

I started inspecting the room, searching for small cameras or microphones hidden in the small spaces like behind the bed or between the closet and the wall.

Thankfully, I didn't find anything.

Then, I put my ear on the wall and tried to hear if anyone was outside the room.

I couldn't hear anything; Sheffield must have gone by now.

Just to be sure, I kneeled on the floor and looked through the small space between the door and the floor.

Nothing, everything seems to be clear.

Good.

I took the case and the sheets of paper off my pocket and stared at it for a couple of seconds.

It's been a long time since I last tried it; a part of me was actually angry that I didn't practice much in all these years.

But that was the past. What mattered now is if I could do it or not.

I was still a Magus, and it was time to prove it.

It was time to do some Magecraft.

**END OF CHAPTER 11**

* * *

**AN: **Full disclosure, this chapter wasn't supposed to end like this, I wanted at least 2 or 3 more scenes, but sadly, I am about to get busy, like really busy. Not only I have college exams, but I am also starting to work part-time. So yeah November is going to be a really busy month for me. If I manage to release a chapter that month, it's going to be a short one with the 2 scenes missing in this chapter.

Now, about the chapter itself, it's a bit of a transition chapter before the next big thing, but I think it worked well with MC meeting the rest of the Royal Navy, hopefully, you'll find it interesting too.

So yeah, that's about it, see you on the next chapter.


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